South Korea's telecoms regulator said Wednesday that it would fine the Korean unit of US technology giant Apple over an iPhone feature that can track the location of users.

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said Apple Korea would be fined up to three million won ($2,829). It also criticised but did not punish search giant Google for its role in collecting the data.

"KCC decided to fine Apple Korea three million won for collecting location data despite the withdrawal of consent by some users," it said in a statement.

The move followed the commission's probe, which was launched in April to check if the collection of location data from iPhone users violated privacy rules.

Apple in May released updated software for iPhones to fix "bugs" that resulted in location data being unencrypted and stored for up to a year. South Korea has about three million iPhone users.

The commission said the Korean units of Apple and Google would be ordered to rectify the saving of the locations of handset users without data encryption, and to help customers better understand their mobile location tracking systems.

"Apple and Google caused worries among users...for having not provided enough information on how location data was collected and used," the KCC statement added.

South Korean police launched in May an investigation on Google's Seoul office on whether the global search company used its mobile phone advertising platform to illegally collect private location data.

Apple Korea spokesman Steve Park said his company did not collect the location data of iPhone users.

"Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plan to ever do so," he told AFP, declining to say whether the company would agree to pay the fine.

A Google Korea spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires: "We are currently reviewing the KCC's decision and we have been co-operating closely with the KCC to answer their questions."

earlier related report
France probing Apple tracking feature
Paris (AFP) Aug 3, 2011 - France's technology watchdog said Wednesday it is investigating an iPhone feature that tracks and stores data on its user's movements, without the user's knowledge or consent.

Regulators in South Korea announced earlier Wednesday that US technology giant Apple would be fined over the iPhone location tracker, as it violated user privacy rules.

British researchers Alasdair Allan and Peter Warden in April revealed that a previous iPhone operating system recorded the longitude and latitude of its owners' movements and saved the information, which could then be read by anyone with access to the phone.

"We have also examined the system following the study of the British researchers," said Yann Padova, who heads France's CNIL, the government's techonology consumer protection body.

"We have sent two letters to Apple, who have responded to us in part. We received some clarifications, but they were not complete. The file is still under investigation," Padova added.

He however assured that on the basis of information provided by Apple, it appeared "the data collected was stored in the handset and was not transmitted to back Apple or its commercial partners," Padova said.

"Apple has worked on improving the information," provided to its clients about the existence of this stored data, he added.

But Padova said key technical questions remain unanswered, notably how Apple secures the data collected on its mobile devices.

Earlier Wednesday, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said it would fine Apple Korea up to three million won ($2,829) over the tracking issue.

It also criticised but did not punish search giant Google for its role in collecting the data.

Apple Korea spokesman Steve Park said his company did not collect the location data of iPhone users.

"Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plan to ever do so," he told AFP, declining to say whether the company would agree to pay the fine.

Apple in May released updated software for iPhones to fix "bugs" that resulted in location data being unencrypted and stored for up to a year.

France's CNIL said it could still impose fines on the company if it finds evidence of wrongdoing.