South Korean government recently launched an investigation for TikTok. The Chinese video sharing application is again under suspicion of personal information leak.
Previously, the U.S. Army and Navy have banned the use of the app, citing cybersecurity threats.
According to the Korea Communications Commission on Thursday, it has recently launched a full-fledged investigation. It is looking into the possibility of the leakage of personal information. Including the request of a Singaporean corporation for materials related to cybersecurity threats.
So KCC is keeping a close eye on whether Tiktok violated the Information and Communication Network Act. An official at the KCC said, “We will also discuss with TikTok whether to conduct an on-site investigation in the future.”
Backed by ByteDance, TikTok has been gaining popularity among South Korean people. Now it has 1.4 million daily users in South Korea and 1.5 billion monthly users worldwide.
Why South Korean government put TikTok under investigation
KCC is investigating the app after it detected the risk of information leak about children and teenagers. TikTok terms and conditions indicate that SIM cards and IP addresses can be leaked without consent from the users.
Reportedly, the KCC also believes that TikTok may violate the Information and Communication Network Act (Article 63-3) as it did not notify users of the mandatory notice of the transfer of personal information abroad via e-mail.
Tiktok stipulates in its privacy policy that “if we allow access to our company, we collect GPS information and mobile device location information”. And, “we may share your information with law enforcement, national authorities or government agencies as required by the Act.”
South Korea is not the first and only country that put TikTok under investigation for information leaks of children and teenagers. Previously, other countries including the US and India have also had TikTok banned.
However, it still has its popularity at the top, it tops the most downloaded app in the world.
