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South Korea Fines Meta $15.67 Million Over Unauthorized Data Collection and Sharing with Advertisers

By  |  November 5, 2024

Seoul, South Korea — South Korea’s data protection authority has levied a 21.62 billion won ($15.67 million) fine against Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, for collecting and sharing sensitive user data without proper consent, according to Reuters. This decision marks a significant regulatory action as global concerns about privacy and data misuse by tech giants intensify.

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    According to South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), Meta collected data on approximately 980,000 Facebook users in South Korea, including information related to users’ religious beliefs, political leanings, and sexual orientation, without obtaining explicit permission. The agency’s investigation revealed that Meta subsequently shared this data with around 4,000 advertisers, which then used it to target users with advertisements based on these sensitive personal details. The PIPC, in a statement issued Tuesday, highlighted that Meta did not take sufficient steps to obtain consent for the data gathering and sharing practices, a move that contravenes South Korean privacy laws.

    Read more: Brazilian Consumer Rights Group Sues Social Media Giants Over Youth Protections

    “Specifically, it has been found that Meta analyzed user behavior data, such as pages they liked and ads they clicked on, and created advertising themes that included sensitive information,” the PIPC stated, per Reuters. This information enabled the classification of users into categories that included attributes such as political views, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs, according to the data protection agency. Some of these categories reportedly included tags like “North Korean defector,” “transgender,” or affiliations with specific religious practices, the agency confirmed.

    This hefty fine reflects South Korea’s increasing vigilance in upholding digital privacy rights as data privacy concerns surge worldwide.

    Source: Reuters