A new enforcement decree will go into effect next week, permitting firms to collect personal information necessary for service provision without users' consent, officials said Thursday. The Personal Information Protection Commission said a new enforcement decree on personal data protection will take effect starting Sunday. Currently, online businesses are required to obtain users' consent to collect personal information necessary for providing services, with refusal potentially leading to service unavailability. Under the upgraded decree, companies will be no longer required to obtain users' consent to collect personal information necessary for services or contracts, though explicit consent will still be needed for sensitive personal data. Information that can be collected without consent include, for example, users' addresses and phone numbers, which are needed to deliver ordered products. When collecting personal information not essential for service provision, companies must inform users and provide sufficient explanations to help them decide whether to give consent. The commission said it will distribute booklets explaining the new decree to companies to prevent confusion about the new rules. Source: Yonhap News Agency