Meta Hit with Fines for Privacy Breaches in South Korea
Meta, the social media giant, has been ordered to pay more than $15 million for the unlawful collection of sensitive information from Facebook users in South Korea. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
South Korea has imposed a significant fine on Meta, the parent company of Facebook, amounting to over $15 million, following an investigation by the country's privacy authority. The inquiry determined that Meta had unlawfully collected sensitive user information and disseminated it to thousands of advertisers.
On Tuesday, the Personal Information Protection Commission of South Korea stated that the U.S. company had gathered information from roughly 980,000 Facebook users in the country regarding their religion, political beliefs, and sexuality without obtaining their consent.
The commission's statement indicated that Meta analyzed the pages liked by Facebook users and the advertisements they engaged with. This analysis allowed the company to categorize ads and identify users interested in specific topics, including particular religions, LGBTQ+ issues, and details regarding North Korean defectors. This sensitive data was then shared with around 4,000 advertisers.
South Korean privacy regulations prohibit companies from processing or utilizing sensitive data related to personal beliefs, political opinions, or sexual behavior unless they secure explicit consent from the individuals concerned.
“While Meta collected this sensitive information and used it for individualized services, they made only vague mentions of this use in their data policy and did not obtain specific consent,” the statement reads.
Additionally, the Commission noted that Meta had unfairly rejected requests from users to access their personal information and did not adequately prevent data leaks affecting around ten South Koreans.
As a result, the company has been fined 21.62 billion won. The Commission has announced its intention to monitor Meta's compliance with its corrective measures.
This isn't the first time that the U.S. company has faced repercussions for data violations. In September, European regulators imposed a $100 million fine on Meta for inadvertently storing some users’ passwords without proper protection or encryption. Earlier in June, Nigeria fined the tech giant $220 million for violating local data protection and privacy laws. Türkiye also penalized the company 1.2 billion lira following an investigation into data sharing across its Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp platforms.
Mark B Thomas contributed to this report for TROIB News
On Tuesday, the Personal Information Protection Commission of South Korea stated that the U.S. company had gathered information from roughly 980,000 Facebook users in the country regarding their religion, political beliefs, and sexuality without obtaining their consent.
The commission's statement indicated that Meta analyzed the pages liked by Facebook users and the advertisements they engaged with. This analysis allowed the company to categorize ads and identify users interested in specific topics, including particular religions, LGBTQ+ issues, and details regarding North Korean defectors. This sensitive data was then shared with around 4,000 advertisers.
South Korean privacy regulations prohibit companies from processing or utilizing sensitive data related to personal beliefs, political opinions, or sexual behavior unless they secure explicit consent from the individuals concerned.
“While Meta collected this sensitive information and used it for individualized services, they made only vague mentions of this use in their data policy and did not obtain specific consent,” the statement reads.
Additionally, the Commission noted that Meta had unfairly rejected requests from users to access their personal information and did not adequately prevent data leaks affecting around ten South Koreans.
As a result, the company has been fined 21.62 billion won. The Commission has announced its intention to monitor Meta's compliance with its corrective measures.
This isn't the first time that the U.S. company has faced repercussions for data violations. In September, European regulators imposed a $100 million fine on Meta for inadvertently storing some users’ passwords without proper protection or encryption. Earlier in June, Nigeria fined the tech giant $220 million for violating local data protection and privacy laws. Türkiye also penalized the company 1.2 billion lira following an investigation into data sharing across its Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp platforms.
Mark B Thomas contributed to this report for TROIB News
