South Korea Fines Temu Nearly $1m for Data Breach Violations
Chinese e-commerce giant Temu has been fined approximately $997,624 by South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) for illegally transferring personal data of Korean users to China and other countries.
According to the PIPC, the company violated South Korea’s data protection laws by outsourcing and storing users’ information in countries such as China, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea without notifying users or updating its privacy policy accordingly.
The commission also noted that Temu did not adequately monitor how third-party firms managed user data and failed to ensure proper protection standards were maintained.
Despite having an average of 2.9 million daily users in South Korea as of 2023, the platform did not appoint a local representative as required by law.
In addition, authorities criticised Temu for making the account deletion nike utah kobe shoe zoom black women sandals process unnecessarily complex, requiring users to complete seven different steps—thereby infringing on their rights to control their data.
Temu has responded, saying it respects the commission’s decision and cooperated fully with the investigation.
A company spokesperson said: “We made improvements during the process to align with local requirements. We support efforts that promote consumer trust and strengthen data transparency.”
This action follows similar sanctions by the South Korean government against other tech firms.
In 2024, AliExpress was fined 1.98 billion won for similar data breaches, while Meta received Kaufe Adidas SUPERSTAR - Mens adidas Cushioned II 3 Pack Quarter - H05658 a fine nike revolution 7 of 21.6 billion won for harvesting sensitive user data, including sexual orientation barron trump height tall nikes melania donald trump, and sharing it with advertisers.
Last month, South Korea also blocked downloads of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI app, for transferring user data to a cloud platform without consent.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
