블록체인과 개인정보 규제 합리화 방안 검토

The right to personal information is not an absolute right, and it must be harmonized with other fundamental rights to conform to the principle of proportionality. Especially, personal information protection system is not designed to be a hindrance to innovative technology. From this point of view, this study examined the issue of regulation of personal information about the block chain technology and service which is becoming a recent issue and searched for improvement plan. The transaction information of the block chain can be regarded as personal information in the light of the judgment of the identifiability in the current law even if it is difficult to identify the individual by itself. Therefore, it is necessary to establish the basis of the use of ‘pseudonymized information’ in order to prevent the processing of ‘transaction information’ in the block chain service from violating the law, and to adopt the corresponding prohibition of re-identification. Also, in the case of ‘permissionless block chain’, the participant of the transaction may correspond to the personal information processor, but since the number is unlimited, it is difficult to actually design the personal information processor to comply with the norm. In the end, there is a possibility of legislation that gives the block chain system operator a certain responsibility. In such a case, it is necessary to alleviate the burden on the block chain system operator by stipulating the requirements for exemption of liability. On the other hand, in view of the technical characteristics of the block chain, it is very difficult to meet the requirements of “legitimate agreement” under the current law. In order to provide stable service of the block chain, it is necessary to improve the ‘agreement’ regulation in the current law.
‘Block Chain’ can provide new value and service in many areas, and our society, including users, can benefit from it. These benefits should not hinder the regulation of personal information.