Seoul pushes for Facebook privacy

The South Korean telecoms regulator is demanding changes to Facebook’s privacy policy, adding to a growing criticism of the way the popular social networking site handles the personal data of its 580 million users.

The Korea Communications Commission joins an international chorus of criticism over Facebook’s handling of personal information. Authorities in Canada and Germany have been among the most vocal.

The website has adjusted its default privacy settings following criticism over the way it allows some third-party sites to access and share its users’ preferences. But, the Korea Communications Commission said, the way Facebook notified users about how personal information was collected and went about getting their consent for its use remained “inadequate”. If Facebook offers personal information to a third party, it needs to notify users of the purpose and the period in which the details would be used, the commission said. The Korean regulator has given Facebook, which has about 2.3 million users in South Korea, 30 days to submit a plan on how it will comply with its demands. The commission said it would impose a fine or take other actions against Facebook if the site does not implement “corrective measures”.