South Korea probes data protection by e-commerce platforms l...

SEOUL: South Korea's personal data protection watchdog said on Thursday (Mar 7) it is looking into consumer data practices of major overseas shopping platforms, as South Korean use of Chinese e-commerce platforms like Alibaba's AliExpress and Temu jumped. The Personal Information Protection Commission said it has been investigating overseas e-commerce platforms since last month, after a parliament audit last year raised questions about data handling by platforms such as AliExpress and PDD Holdings' international facing discount e-commerce platform Temu. It is checking the appropriateness of their personal information processing policies, overseas transfers, and safety measures, and will take steps if there are any violations of South Korean law, the commission said in a statement. The announcement follows South Korea's antitrust regulator, Fair Trade Commission (FTC), sending inspecto...