South Korea Fines Meta $15 Million for Illegal Data Collection

South Korea’s privacy regulator has imposed a $15 million fine on Meta, citing illegal data collection on nearly one million Facebook users. The watchdog’s investigation revealed Meta gathered sensitive personal information without users’ explicit consent, which it then shared with advertisers.

The South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced the fine following a four-year probe into Meta’s data practices between 2018 and 2022. The investigation determined that Meta had gathered private details such as users’ political views, religious affiliations, and sexual orientation based on their interactions on Facebook. This data was subsequently categorized and shared with over 4,000 advertisers.

According to the PIPC, Meta violated strict privacy laws by failing to adequately inform users about this data collection. Meta’s policies did not explicitly disclose the extent of the data gathered or the ways it would be used, which the commission deemed misleading.

“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,” said Lee Eun Jung, a PIPC director involved in the investigation.

Meta’s response has been limited, with a spokesperson stating that the company is reviewing the PIPC’s findings. This fine follows a similar 2022 penalty when Meta and Google faced a $72 million sanction in South Korea for tracking users without their consent and using the gathered data to serve targeted ads.

This decision also follows a host of similar allegations and legal challenges for the social media giant in 2024. Meta agreed to pay the state of Texas $1.4 billion as a settlement for similar violations. What’s more, it was previously discovered that Facebook effectively spied on Snapchat’s traffic in order to gain a competitive edge.