Apple hit by fine in location data row
Source: Agencies |
August 4, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
APPLE'S South Korean unit has been fined 3 million won (US$2,855) by the country's communications regulator after the iPhone and iPad maker collected location data from users without authorization.
The fine, though small, marks the first time Apple has been punished by a regulator over the controversial location data collection which has sparked criticism in the US and elsewhere.
The revelation in April that Apple's iPhones collected location data and stored it for up to a year - even when location software was turned off - has prompted renewed debate over privacy.
Some 27,800 South Korean iPhone and iPad users are planning to launch a class action suit against Apple over the matter, while two separate US groups have sued Apple, alleging certain software applications passed personal user information to third-party advertisers.
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) ordered Apple and Google to take corrective measures, saying it has found loopholes in systems supposed to protect location information.
Steve Park, a spokesman for Apple Korea, said: "Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so."
Google, a competitor of Apple in mobile computing, has also faced criticism over reports that Android-based phones track the users' locations.
Google said location-sharing on its Android mobile platform was strictly on an opt-in basis.
"We are currently reviewing the KCC's decision," said Google Korea. "We have been cooperating closely with the KCC to answer their questions."
In June, Apple paid a Korean lawyer 1 million won in a court ruling regarding its location data collection, the first payout by the US tech giant over these complaints.
The lawyer, Kim Hyung-suk, is leading the class action against Apple, seeking 1 million won in compensation for each of the 27,800 iPhone and iPad users who applied to join the suit.
US lawmakers have accused the technology industry of exploiting location data for marketing purposes - a potentially multibillion-dollar industry - without obtaining proper consent from phone users.
The fine, though small, marks the first time Apple has been punished by a regulator over the controversial location data collection which has sparked criticism in the US and elsewhere.
The revelation in April that Apple's iPhones collected location data and stored it for up to a year - even when location software was turned off - has prompted renewed debate over privacy.
Some 27,800 South Korean iPhone and iPad users are planning to launch a class action suit against Apple over the matter, while two separate US groups have sued Apple, alleging certain software applications passed personal user information to third-party advertisers.
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) ordered Apple and Google to take corrective measures, saying it has found loopholes in systems supposed to protect location information.
Steve Park, a spokesman for Apple Korea, said: "Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so."
Google, a competitor of Apple in mobile computing, has also faced criticism over reports that Android-based phones track the users' locations.
Google said location-sharing on its Android mobile platform was strictly on an opt-in basis.
"We are currently reviewing the KCC's decision," said Google Korea. "We have been cooperating closely with the KCC to answer their questions."
In June, Apple paid a Korean lawyer 1 million won in a court ruling regarding its location data collection, the first payout by the US tech giant over these complaints.
The lawyer, Kim Hyung-suk, is leading the class action against Apple, seeking 1 million won in compensation for each of the 27,800 iPhone and iPad users who applied to join the suit.
US lawmakers have accused the technology industry of exploiting location data for marketing purposes - a potentially multibillion-dollar industry - without obtaining proper consent from phone users.
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