Citizens' League for Economic Justice: "Government leaves citizens exposed to spam texts… full-scale investigation into personal information practices required"

Sharp criticism has emerged that the government is leaving citizens unprotected from spam text messages. The Citizens' League for Economic Justice (CLEJ) argued that the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission and the Personal Information Protection Commission must conduct a comprehensive investigation into the personal information policies of relevant companies.

The CLEJ issued a statement on the 16th, urging authorities to "inspect the current state of personal information processing across the entire corporate advertising text message and messaging market and take steps toward institutional improvements."

According to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), the number of reported and detected spam text messages last year reached approximately 44.81 million annually, with 31.93 million in the first half and 12.88 million in the second half. This figure is 339 times greater than the 132,116 reports of KakaoTalk brand message spam (0.3% of total spam) identified during this year's National Assembly audit.

The CLEJ proposed three improvement measures. The first is an investigation into personal information processing structures and the establishment of common standards. The CLEJ stated, "It is not enough to merely check whether terms of service include consent language for receiving advertisements; the actual pathways of personal data collection and the legal basis for each processing entity must be verified," adding that "specific standards for personal information processing should be established based on this."

The second is the specification of inspection criteria regarding transmission result replies and information integration. The CLEJ explained, "It must be confirmed what information is transmitted to advertisers and whether such information is used beyond sending for user analysis or additional advertising," noting that "since processing results such as successful or failed transmissions can reveal personal information when combined with other data, standards are needed for reply items, purposes of use, and retention periods."

The final measure is institutional improvement to allow blanket refusal before receiving advertising text messages and messages. The CLEJ explained, "The Network Act fundamentally requires explicit prior consent and prohibits acts that evade or obstruct the right to refuse receipt or withdraw consent," adding that "for these rights to function effectively, users must be able to easily express their will and verify processing results."

The CLEJ emphasized, "We urge the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission and the Personal Information Protection Commission to eliminate blind spots in advertising spam text messages and messages and take action on institutional improvements that our citizens can actually feel."