Meta Fined $15.67 Million by South Korea for Unauthorized Data Collection and Sharing

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has been fined 21.62 billion won ($15.67 million) by South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) for collecting sensitive user data without proper consent and sharing it with advertisers.

Background of the Fine

The penalty follows an investigation that revealed Meta’s unauthorized collection of sensitive information, including religious beliefs, political opinions, and sexual orientation, from approximately 980,000 South Korean Facebook users. This data was then shared with around 4,000 advertisers for targeted advertising, without user consent.

How Meta Analyzed User Data

According to PIPC, Meta monitored user interactions on Facebook—such as liked pages and clicked ads—to build advertising profiles based on sensitive information. The data analysis included labels identifying users as North Korean defectors, members of specific religious groups, or individuals identifying as transgender or gay. Furthermore, the commission noted that Meta denied users’ requests for access to their personal data and failed to prevent a data breach that exposed information from about 10 South Korean users to hackers.

Meta Korea has declined to comment on the ruling.

Increasing Global Focus on Data Privacy

This incident in South Korea reflects a global trend of heightened scrutiny and enforcement regarding data privacy violations by major tech companies.

Ireland: In a related case, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) imposed a €310 million fine on LinkedIn for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). LinkedIn’s breaches involved the use of behavioral analysis for targeted advertising without proper transparency or user consent.
Nigeria: In July, Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) jointly fined Meta $220 million for privacy violations. Meta was found to have denied Nigerian users control over their data and shared personal information across borders without authorization.

What to Know

Data Privacy Enforcement: These cases underscore the importance of compliance with global data privacy regulations, as countries around the world are increasingly enforcing strict policies to protect user data.
Meta’s Global Challenges: The South Korean fine adds to a growing list of penalties faced by Meta worldwide, reflecting a broader push to hold tech companies accountable for data practices.

The rising global focus on data privacy signifies a shift toward protecting user rights, demanding transparency, and enforcing significant penalties on companies that fail to adhere to privacy standards.