A data protection watchdog announced on Thursday ( May 15 ) that South Korea has fined Chinese e-commerce giant Temu nearly US$ 1 million for allegedly transferring Korean users ‘ personal information to China and other nations.
In recent years, Taiwanese online retailers like Shein, Temu, and AliExpress have soared in popularity worldwide, offering a wide range of goods at astonishingly low prices, helping them compete with American giant Amazon.
According to Seoul’s Personal Information Protection Commission ( PIPC ), Temu outsources and shares user data with businesses in several nations, including China, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan.
However, the business “failed to inform users that personal data may be given to outside entities” in a declaration.
The PIPC fined Temu around 1.39 billion won ($ US$ 997, 624 ) for breaking the data protection act, according to the PIPC.
Temu also failed to manage foreign businesses, including those that deal with data safety, and did not properly inspect how they handle personal information.
Temu used by an average of 2.9 million people in South Korea each day as of 2023, according to the regulator, but the business did not specify a local consultant as required by South Korean data safety law.