E-commerce companies face scrutiny over data breach compensation

Multiple e-commerce and service providers in Taiwan and Japan are facing criticism regarding their compensation strategies following significant personal data breaches.

In Taiwan, Coupang was fined 1.5 million TWD by authorities after a former employee in South Korea accessed the data of over 204,000 Taiwanese users. Coupang offered affected users 1,000 TWD in shopping vouchers rather than cash. Similarly, PChome subsidiaries Bibian and Pi Wallet issued compensation in the form of shopping vouchers and convenience store coupons following data leaks involving user identities and order histories.

Furthermore, 91APP reported a potential security incident affecting nearly 4.8 million consumers across 1,329 brands. While the company has promised to handle compensation, specific terms have not yet been finalized.

In Japan, Times Mobility announced it would provide 3,000 yen in cash or vouchers to users whose identification documents were leaked. In contrast, GMO Internet Group established a special compensation fund of up to 3 million yen for customers affected by a breach of its desktop cloud service. A survey by UPF indicates that over 53 percent of consumers feel that monetary compensation alone does not resolve the issue, with many prioritizing thorough explanations and preventative measures over the amount received.