디지털 시대의 소비자 보호의 방향 - 데이터와 소비자 보호 -

Digital technology has changed the economy and society. Due to the rapid technological development, consumers enjoy great utility in their daily life because they can quickly access data anytime and anywhere. In addition, a platform-based ecosystem has been evolving through the extensive and continuous collection and combination of data in the digital economy. Data-business operators’ data collection creates a large amount of structured or unstructured aggregated data called ‘big data’ and makes it commercially available. Also, due to the revenue generated from data-related services, data is recognized for its economic value. Accordingly, recently ‘data’ and ‘protection of data’ have become essential concerns in the digital economy, and from the competition’s viewpoint, ‘protection of personal information’ is also emerging as a parameter. Data-related consumer issues tend to be recognized as issues of ‘transparency of data-related terms’ or ‘privacy/personal information’ in the realm of economic law. Privacy issues are of particular concern due to the use or abuse of sensitive data and are also crucial issues related to fundamental human rights. In the economic law field in Korea, data research has been discussed mainly from the perspective of the ‘business operators’ competition restrictions’ caused by data concentration for the past two to three years. On the other hand, from the perspective of ‘consumer protection,’ data rights of consumers and data-related competition issues have not yet been thoroughly reviewed. However, several research reports show that consumer data is increasingly related to competition law evaluation. Also, it is revealed that business operators’ privacy policies and consumer data protection are emerging as a means of competition through the qualitative differentiation of the business operators and that the collection and ownership of consumer data and access to that information can affect competition. Protecting consumers’ data rights in the digital economy requires a new understanding that consolidates the issues of competition policies, consumer protection, and data protection. Research from various perspectives related to consumer data should continue to foster competition in the data-driven digital economy and contribute to the stable promotion of data-based businesses of operators.