South Korea fines Meta $15 million for data privacy breach

Reuters has reported that Meta has been fined KRW 21.6 billion (~$15PHP 880INR 1,271EUR 14CNY 109 million) by South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission. Their findings show that Meta has been illegally collecting and sharing sensitive user data with advertisers without consent.

The regulatory body’s investigation also revealed that Meta collected the information of over 980,000 South Korean users. This includes details about religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and political views.

The commission stated that “It has been found that Meta analyzed user behavior such as pages they liked and advertisements they clicked on Facebook and created and managed advertising themes related to sensitive information”.

The collected data was used by roughly 4,000 advertisers to target users with specific advertisements related to sensitive themes. These consist of transgender issues, homosexuality, and North Korean defectors.

Additionally, the commission said that Meta’s action violated South Korean privacy laws. The company failed to obtain explicit consent for the collection and processing of sensitive personal information.

Meta is currently undergoing criticism for their handling of user data. This is seen as a failure in implementing adequate security measures to waive off unwarranted access.

What do you guys think about South Korea’s fine on the parent company of Facebook and Instagram?