Personal Information Commission Launches Investigation into Google Over Digital Sex Crime Victim Data Leak

The Personal Information Protection Commission announced on the 11th that it has launched an investigation into Google following an incident in which requests for the removal of digital sex crime materials were publicly disclosed on external sites.

On September 7, the Commission requested Google to submit relevant data to verify the facts. Specifically, they are confirming the details regarding the scope and types of sensitive personal information that Google provided to external website operators, as well as the time period during which such data was shared.

Song Kyunghee, Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, is speaking at the 5th plenary session held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on March 25, 2026. Photo by Jo Yongjun

Additionally, the Commission plans to examine whether Google continuously provided removal requests to website operators, whether there was any human error or system malfunction, and the circumstances under which the harm occurred.

The Commission will also focus on whether Google had a lawful basis for processing when providing personal information to third-party website operators, and whether proper consent procedures were followed during the transmission of sensitive information, in order to determine any potential violations of the Personal Information Protection Act.

The Commission emphasized, "This case involves the sensitive information of digital sex crime victims, making it a serious matter with concerns about secondary victimization."

The Commission added, "We will conduct a thorough investigation into the overall flow of personal information processing between Google and external website operators. If any urgent issues requiring removal or blocking are identified during the investigation, we will immediately demand corrective action from Google and the website operators to prevent further harm."

Previously, controversy arose when the removal requests—including victims' names and contact information—from individuals seeking deletion of illegal recordings and other digital sex crime materials were made public on an overseas research project site affiliated with Google. In response, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family requested Google and the site to delete the information, and the Korea Communications Standards Commission was asked to conduct an emergency review for access blocking.

On September 9, Amanda Storey, Vice President for Trust and Safety, Regulatory, Transparency, and Risk at Google, issued an official statement, saying, "We sincerely apologize for the unintended disclosure of information that has caused distress to the victims and the public."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.