The government has reviewed how major robot vacuum makers selling in South Korea handle personal data and ordered corrective steps on several shortcomings. It plans to keep examining privacy risks, focusing on new features in the latest models.
The Personal Information Protection Commission said on Sept. 14 that it reviewed privacy risks in the latest models of five major robot vacuum brands sold in the country: Roborock, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Ecovacs and Xiaomi.
The review found no particular risk of privacy breaches in how the devices collect, transmit and store video, audio, photos and mapping data. It did, however, identify shortcomings in how the companies inform users about data handling and meet their legal obligations, and the commission recommended improvements.
In some cases, companies did not distinguish between personal data processed without consent for purposes such as signing and performing contracts and data processed with user consent, presenting both together. The commission required them to clearly separate the legal grounds for processing when informing users.
The companies also改 revised their systems so users can choose in advance whether to consent to the collection and use of their personal data. Where privacy policies omitted details on transfers of personal data abroad when overseas data centers are used, the commission required them to clearly state the specifics and the data retention period.
Foreign operators were required to designate a domestic representative and clearly state necessary details in their privacy policies, including the representative's name, address and contact information. The commission also identified shortcomings in access controls on the devices and in encryption during data transmission, and had the companies address them.
The commission said it will recommend corrective action on items not yet addressed and verify the results, and that in the second half of this year it will examine privacy risks centered on new features in the latest robot vacuum models.
It also plans to open a technology analysis center this year to empirically assess privacy threats from new technologies and services.
"Building on the technology analysis center, we plan to continue expanding prevention-focused reviews that proactively examine and improve how data is handled in products and services closely tied to people's daily lives," the commission said.
