Daum Kakao snooped on citizens, pledges to stop after users protest

For better or for worse, Korea is one of the world’s most connected nations, with about 85 percent of their population on the internet as of last year. Local KakaoTalk users – who make up three-quarters of the almost 50 million monthly active users – recently found out the downside when the government announced a crackdown on online defamation.

This was in light of the discovery of what President Park Geun-hye termed as rumors spreading on the chat app that “divided the society”, according to StarTribune.

Daum Kakao had initially complied with the authorities, providing the communication logs of users on a weekly basis. What followed was a spike in interest in alternative chat apps. According to research firm Rankey, 610,000 KakaoTalk users visited messaging app competitor Telegram last Wednesday, which then became the most downloaded free app in the local iOS app store.

Following that, Daum Kakao CEO Lee Sirgoo has chosen to take a step back, and stated that the company will no longer comply with eavesdropping warrants, according to Nikkei Asian Review.