Korea demands years of Google records over sex-crime victim data exposure

Published Sep 11, 2026 3:53 pm KST

Gov't reviews Google's potential legal liability as privacy watchdog opens probe

Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyung speaks during a press briefing at Government Complex Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

The Korean government said Friday it is reviewing Google’s potential legal liability over the exposure of sensitive personal information submitted in digital sex-crime content removal requests, while demanding that the tech firm disclose whether similar cases occurred dating back to 2018.

Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyung said the ministry, along with the Korea Media and Communications Commission, is closely examining whether Google violated laws governing the punishment of sexual crimes, telecommunications services and information-and-communications networks.

Separately on the same day, the Personal Information Protection Commission launched an investigation into the incident, requesting materials from Google to establish the facts about how the information was leaked and ended up on an external website.

This comes after the ministry found on Aug. 25 that some information submitted to Google by victims of digital sex crimes and human rights organizations seeking the removal of illegal sexual content had been posted on a third-party website, whose name was not disclosed over privacy issues. The information contained sensitive personal details such as victims’ names, workplaces and contact information.

“This is a serious matter that inflicts further harm on the victims,” Won told reporters during a briefing on the incident at Government Complex Seoul. “If violations are confirmed, Google will have to bear legal responsibility commensurate with them. I want to make this clear to Google that it is not a matter that can be lightly dismissed as a simple system error.”

She said the ministry moved immediately after learning of the incident, requesting that the company and the external website delete and block the information, and seeking emergency action from the Korea Media and Communications Commission, which can restrict access within Korea to unlawful online content.

But it took nearly two weeks to completely block the records from the website. Officials said the third-party website had blocked all removal-request records involving Korean individuals and support organizations from around 1 a.m. on Sept. 7.

The exact number of victims remains unclear. About 20 removal-request records contained information that could potentially identify victims, officials said, but that figure does not necessarily represent 20 victims because some links and URLs were duplicated.

Officials said they would communicate with affected victims to assess the extent of harm and determine whether additional documents or evidence are needed. The ministry plans to provide legal assistance, counseling and psychological support if victims ask for it, they said.

According to the ministry, it obtained an official letter from Google on Wednesday containing the company’s written assurance that it would not share externally any materials related to all future takedown requests submitted from Korea.

“Platforms like Google, which wield enormous influence around the world, bear an even greater responsibility to protect victims’ sensitive information and handle it securely,” Won said. She added that if a similar incident occurs again despite that assurance, she believes it could “face even greater liability.”

The ministry said it would closely monitor whether Google puts in place and follows through with effective measures to prevent a recurrence.

发布于2026年9月11日下午3:53（韩国标准时间）

政府审查谷歌潜在的法律责任，隐私监管机构展开调查

韩国性别平等与家庭部长官元珉京周五在首尔政府大楼举行的新闻发布会上发表讲话。（韩联社）

韩国政府周五表示，正在审查谷歌因泄露在数字性犯罪内容删除请求中提交的敏感个人信息而可能承担的法律责任，同时要求这家科技公司披露自 2018 年以来是否发生过类似案件。

韩国性别平等与家庭部长元敏京表示，该部正与韩国媒体与通信委员会密切调查谷歌是否违反了有关性犯罪处罚、电信服务和信息通信网络的法律。

同一天，个人信息保护委员会也对该事件展开了调查，要求谷歌提供资料，以查明信息泄露并最终出现在外部网站上的事实。

此前，该部于8月25日发现，一些由网络性犯罪受害者和人权组织提交给谷歌以要求删除非法色情内容的信息，被发布在一个第三方网站上，出于隐私考虑，该网站的名称未被披露。这些信息包含受害者的姓名、工作单位和联系方式等敏感个人信息。

“这是一件非常严重的事件，会对受害者造成进一步的伤害，”元在首尔政府大楼举行的事件简报会上对记者说。“如果违规行为得到证实，谷歌必须承担相应的法律责任。我要明确告诉谷歌，这绝非一个简单的系统错误就能轻易解决的事情。”

她表示，该部门在得知此事后立即采取行动，要求该公司和外部网站删除并屏蔽相关信息，并向韩国媒体和通信委员会寻求紧急措施，该委员会可以限制韩国境内对非法网络内容的访问。

但彻底屏蔽网站上的记录用了将近两周时间。官员表示，这家第三方网站从9月7日凌晨1点左右开始屏蔽了所有涉及韩国个人和援助组织的删除请求记录。

受害者的确切人数尚不清楚。官员表示，约有20份删除请求记录包含可能识别受害者的信息，但由于部分链接和网址重复，该数字并不一定代表20名受害者。

官员表示，他们将与受影响的受害者沟通，评估伤害程度，并确定是否需要其他文件或证据。他们还表示，如果受害者提出要求，该部门计划提供法律援助、咨询和心理支持。

据该部称，他们周三收到谷歌的一封正式信函，信中谷歌书面保证不会向外界分享任何与未来从韩国提交的所有下架请求相关的材料。

“像谷歌这样在全球范围内拥有巨大影响力的平台，肩负着更大的责任来保护受害者的敏感信息并确保其安全处理，”Won说道。她补充说，如果尽管谷歌做出了保证，但类似事件再次发生，她认为谷歌“可能面临更大的责任”。

该部表示，将密切关注谷歌是否采取并落实有效措施防止此类事件再次发生。