TikTok has been found to have collected data on what users clicked on and purchased from other shopping sites, using this information for targeted advertising. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) imposed a fine of 10.3 billion won ($9.2 million) on TikTok for collecting and using personal data without proper consent and transferring it abroad.
On July 22, the PIPC held a full meeting and announced that it had imposed a total fine of 10.558 billion won ($9.3 million) on TikTok and an Apple subsidiary for violating the Personal Information Protection Act. TikTok received a fine of 10.306 billion won ($9.2 million) along with corrective and disclosure orders, while the Apple subsidiary was fined 252 million won ($220,000).
The investigation revealed that TikTok distributed behavioral data collection tools to other website and app operators while providing advertising and content performance analysis services. This allowed TikTok to collect user activity records, including clicked products, purchase history, items added to carts, inquiries, and downloads, linking this data to TikTok accounts and device identifiers to analyze user interests and preferences for targeted advertising.
According to the PIPC, approximately 71,000 companies in South Korea are using this collection tool, resulting in the collection of behavioral data from about 9.45 million active users in the country.
The PIPC determined that TikTok lacked legal grounds, such as user consent, for the collection, use, and transfer of personal data abroad. Consequently, it imposed fines along with corrective and disclosure orders for violations of the Personal Information Protection Act.
An Apple subsidiary was also included in the sanctions. The PIPC's investigation found that Apple collected and used transcripts of user voice recordings from its voice assistant service, Siri, without obtaining separate consent while improving its voice recognition capabilities.
However, during the investigation, Apple improved its procedures to allow users to directly choose whether to collect transcripts and implemented features to automatically filter out personal information included in the transcripts. The company also revised its privacy policy to correct the violations, resulting in a fine of 252 million won ($220,000).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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