South Korean Regulator Demands Stricter Data Safeguards for Foreign Firms

South Korea's media-content regulator has called on nine foreign companies to strengthen their safeguards for information contained in takedown requests. The request comes after an incident involving Google, where sensitive data related to digital sex crimes was allegedly mishandled.

The incident occurred on September 14, 2026, and affected Google, Meta Korea, X Korea, TikTok Korea, as well as eight other foreign companies. According to reports, the regulator is concerned that the handling of this information may have compromised the privacy of individuals involved in the digital sex crimes.

The South Korean media-content regulator has urged these companies to review their procedures for dealing with takedown requests and to implement additional safeguards to protect sensitive data.