Seoul: South Korea's antitrust regulator has mandated that AliExpress and Temu amend their contract terms to eliminate unfair practices. The corrective orders were issued after the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) identified multiple clauses within the platforms' terms and conditions that infringed upon consumer rights and violated local e-commerce laws. According to Yonhap News Agency, the FTC's investigation found 47 problematic clauses that limited consumer rights and absolved the platforms of significant liability. These clauses contravened South Korean regulations, prompting the FTC to demand revisions that would hold AliExpress and Temu accountable for negligence and ensure compliance with South Korean civil law regarding consumer compensation. The FTC also addressed privacy concerns with the platforms' collection of personal data. Existing terms allowed AliExpress and Temu to gather extensive user data without specifying the duration of use or obtaining consent for data sharing with third parties. The FTC ordered the platforms to clarify data collection policies and align them with South Korea's Personal Information Protection Act, which requires explicit user consent for data transfers and mandates the inclusion of consumer complaint procedures in terms and conditions. Additionally, the commission found that AliExpress and Temu required consumer disputes to be settled in overseas courts, which disadvantaged South Korean consumers. The FTC instructed both companies to revise these clauses to ensure that disputes involving South Korean consumers are governed by local laws. Shin Yong-ho, an FTC official, highlighted that until the investigation, neither platform provided terms and conditions in Korean. In response, AliExpress and Temu have committed to aligning their practices with South Korean regulations. AliExpress announced plans to revise its terms and agreements before Black Friday, emphasizing responsibility towards Korean consumers. Temu echoed this sentiment, expressing respect for Korean legal standa rds and a commitment to necessary improvements. The backdrop to these regulatory actions includes a significant rise in direct overseas purchases by South Korean consumers, with spending reaching 6.8 trillion won (US$4.9 billion) in 2023. Chinese platforms like AliExpress and Temu have been pivotal in this trend, with China accounting for 48.7 percent of South Korea's overseas purchases in 2023, surpassing the United States.