Footage of South Koreans Trend on Chinese TikTok, Raising Privacy Concerns

South Koreans person voiced privateness concerns aft learning that users of China’s mentation of TikTok person been signaling unauthorized footage of radical successful nationalist places successful South Korea.

A caller station titled, “Do you cognize that Chinese radical instrumentality pictures of Koreans secretly?” has been trending connected a South Korean forum.

The writer claimed to person downloaded the Chinese TikTok app owed to an involvement successful Chinese celebrities. However, this led to the find that the Chinese TikTok level is afloat of unauthorized recordings of radical connected the streets and subways of South Korea—where nary of their faces oregon identifying features are blurred out, successful usurpation of South Korean law.

“I had to blur retired those faces myself!” the writer said erstwhile sharing screenshots of the unauthorized footage successful the post.

Photo-taking successful South Korea is taxable to personality rights, including the “Right to Privacy” and the “Right to Publicity.”

After the station went viral spread, galore South Korean media outlets reported the story, specified arsenic Chosun Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo.

South Korean contented is fashionable among Chinese TikTok users. Videos with themes specified arsenic “Korean clothing,” “Korean regular wear,” “Korean thoroughfare snap,” and “Korean benignant wear” usually get tons of views and interactions.

“If you enactment the connection ‘Korea’ successful the video rubric [on Chinese TikTok], the click complaint doubles,” reported Money Today, a South Korean regular newspaper.

However, a ample fig of videos connected Chinese TikTok show unauthorized images of members of the public, revealing their faces and adjacent sometimes highlighting definite parts of their bodies.

The South Korean ineligible assemblage has warned that adjacent foreigners whitethorn beryllium taxable to punishment for repeatedly filming circumstantial radical without consent nether South Korean law, according to section media.

Kim Ki-yoon, a South Korean lawyer who specializes successful transgression law, told Money Today, “The lensman volition not beryllium punished for simply thoroughfare filming. However, since the look of a idiosyncratic is besides considered idiosyncratic information, taking videos oregon photos, and making them nationalist whitethorn interruption [South Korea’s] ‘Personal Information Protection Act.’”

Kim besides pointed out, “If the [unauthorized] photograph oregon video highlights definite parts of the pistillate body, it could besides interruption [South Korea’s] ‘Sexual Violence Prevention and Victims Protection Act.’”

Many South Koreans were shocked by the report. In the comments conception of the archetypal post, many said they find specified filming “creepy” and consciousness “offended.”