GRC Report Staff

South Korea’s data protection watchdog says Starbucks and its third-party auditor mishandled workers’ personal data and now both companies are being ordered to fix it. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) resolved to issue correction orders and compliance recommendations to Starbucks Corporation and Elevate Hong Kong Holdings Limited, following a probe into how the two handled personal information linked to Starbucks’ Ethical Sourcing Program in Korea.

The European Commission has launched a formal antitrust investigation into whether Meta is unfairly limiting third-party artificial intelligence providers’ access to WhatsApp, potentially shutting out competitors to its own “Meta AI” service.

Southern Phone is facing tough scrutiny after paying US $1,607,600 (AUD 2,500,560) in penalties, the highest fine the Australian Communications and Media Authority has ever issued for this type of failure, for giving scammers an easy path to take over customers’ mobile numbers.

Dutch financial institutions are beginning to show how they plan to align their business with a climate-safe future, and regulators say the early progress is encouraging, even if the road ahead is long. In a new review, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets finds that eight of the country’s largest banks and insurers are reporting on their climate transition plans and financed-emissions data in a more structured and transparent way than ever before.

The UK’s corporate governance watchdog is taking a closer look at how the country’s largest private companies explain their governance decisions and sees both progress and room to grow. In its first reporting insights since taking over oversight of the Wates Corporate Governance Principles earlier this year, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) says many companies are using the framework effectively to articulate how boards oversee risk and engage with stakeholders. But when it comes to explaining corporate purpose, how boards are structured, and how directors are paid, disclosures are still often falling flat.

South Korea’s competition regulator has fined Webzen for misleading players about the chances of winning rare items in its hit mobile game MU Archangel. The Commission, chaired by Biung-ghi Ju, announced that Webzen will face a corrective order and administrative surcharges totaling KRW 1.58 billion (about USD $1.2 million) for using what officials described as deceptive practices tied to in-game “loot boxes.”

American Express has landed in the crosshairs of France’s data protection regulator, which says the company repeatedly ignored rules that give internet users control over how they’re tracked online.