Naver decided not to use data that users have set to private for artificial intelligence (AI) training.
Naver applied the revised terms of service starting on the 10th. The terms, which were announced on the 3rd, include a provision stating that content deleted or set to private by users will not be used for technical research purposes in AI. However, for content provided (publicly) by users, Naver's affiliates may use it for service provision and research and development purposes.
This revision of the terms is interpreted as reflecting requirements from last year's government audits. Representative Park Min-kyu of the Democratic Party of Korea pointed out during a National Assembly audit at the time that 'Naver must agree to use user-generated content (UGC) as AI training data in order to allow membership,' contrasting it with Google and Kakao.
Ha Jung-woo, then head of Naver Cloud AI Innovation Center, noted that 'from Naver's perspective, these terms are for the convenience of users, but from the user's perspective, it may be viewed differently,' adding that 'the Fair Trade Commission also views it similarly, thus it is currently under internal review.'