Personal Privacy Concerns in the Information Age

As reported in the Joongang Daily, the Korea Communications Commission yesterday gave the public some advice on how to use social networking services in ways that protect private information.  The Commission cited a recent study by the Korea Internet and Security Agency, some findings of which are summarized in the accompanying graphic (click to enlarge the graphic).  This marks the first time a government agency has officially acknowledged the privacy issues posed by such social networking services as Facebook, Twitter and Me2Day.

The KCC’s 10-point guideline advised users to set security and privacy settings on networks to the appropriate level; to agree to be connected with people only when you are certain who they are; and logging out when you're not using the SNS. It also warned users about publishing personal information that may be used by advertisers and marketers for targeted advertising. It reminded users that once they upload postings, they can be widely distributed through other Web sites without the user’s knowledge.

More on KT and the Korea Communications Commission

The Korea Times reported yesterday that the Chairman of KT, Lee Suk-chae had gone "one up" on Choi See-jung, the Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).  The article suggested that the relatively new KCC is already facing an identity crisis, and that the threat is coming from KT.  As noted in an earlier post, the Chairman of KT recently publicly questioned whether the KCC is the appropriate structure to "guide the country's information technology policies forward."

Last Thursday, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced plans to combine KT and state-run banks in a special purpose entity (SPE) to invest about $790 million in the network infrastructure for next-generation telecommunications services such as WiBro and Internet protocol television (IPTV).  An SPE is a legal entity owned by one or more organizations that is created to fulfill specific or temporary objectives. These entities are typically used when companies look to isolate themselves from financial risks on large-scale projects.

The problem is that Thursday's announcement by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance caught the KCC by  surprise.    KT officials noted that they have made no changes to their previously announced plans to invest in WiBro and IPTV.  However, they submitted the idea about the special purpose company to the finance ministry because "we were asked to come up with scenarios to help the economy and boost employment."

Korea Telecom CEO Proposes Revamping the KCC

As reported by The Korea Times, Lee, Suk Chae, Chairman and CEO of Korea Telecom said last week that The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) might not be the right organization to guide the country's information technology policies forward.  While talking with panelists at a weekly forum of the National Strategy Institute, he suggested that the KCC's committee-based decision-making structure makes it less effective as a developer of national IT strategies than its predecessor, the Ministry of Information and Communication.  "The KCC is a meaningful organization, but it is based on the wrong fundamental philosophy," he said.  Furthermore,

``The KCC was planned as a neutral, independent agency, but now the body that even has commissioners named from opposition political parties now have the power to regulate IT. Communications is part of administration, and should not be a commission-based organization, and this has to be changed.''

The KCC was inaugurated last year as the country's first converged regulator for telecommunications and broadcasting. Currently, a committee of five, including the KCC chairman and four commissioners, two of them named by the ruling political party and the other two by the opposition, is empowered to make decisions.

``The vice chairman post rotates from the commissioners selected from the ruling political party and the opposition. This means that the leader of the opposition party can become vice commissioner and have the rights to attend administrative meetings, which is not right,'' Lee said.