Meta Fined USD 15.6 Million for Unauthorised Data Collection in South Korea

In a recent crackdown, South Korea’s data authority penalised Meta 21.6 billion Korean won (USD 15.6 million) for illegally gathering sensitive user information from Facebook profiles, such as sexual orientation and religious beliefs.

Meta apparently gave this information to advertisers, who used it for targeted marketing. The commission discovered that Meta had shared this information with nearly 4,000 advertisers, allowing for targeted marketing on sensitive issues. Along with the penalties, Meta was instructed to create a legal basis for processing such data, strengthen data security, and respond to users’ data access requests. Meta noted that it would thoroughly analyse the ruling before responding further.