Civic group files complaint against Kakao over alleged privacy law violations
A civic group filed a complaint against Kakao with the privacy watchdog on Monday, alleging that the tech giant's corporate advertising service uses personal data to target users without their consent. The Seoul YMCA said it urged the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) to investigate KakaoTalk’s Brand Message service and impose strict sanctions if violations are confirmed. The…
A civic organization has filed a complaint against the tech company Kakao with the privacy watchdog, alleging the company's advertising service violates privacy laws by targeting users with personalized ads without their consent. The Seoul YMCA requested the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) to investigate KakaoTalk's Brand Message service and impose strict penalties if violations are found.
The group claims Kakao replaced its previous advertising method, which only targeted users who had added a business's KakaoTalk channel, with Brand Message. This new service enables businesses to send advertisements without users needing to follow the company's channels. According to the civic group, Kakao matches phone numbers provided by advertisers with its user database to identify recipients of ads, even though users gave their numbers solely for basic messaging purposes, not for receiving third-party ads.
The civic group stated the main violations involve unauthorized use of personal information and infringement of users' rights.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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