- Meta has issues with data protection
- Meta to pay more than 21 million
Meta has issues with data protection
South Korea has granted more than €15 million to Facebook's parent company Meta. The country's data watchdog said on Tuesday that Meta had been fined USD 15 million for illegally collecting classified information from nearly a million users without consent and sharing it with advertising companies.
Seoul's Personal Information Protection Commission added that the company, which also owns the Instagram platform, violated laws that prohibit the use of information about a person's political opinions, religious beliefs, and sex life unless the person in question explicitly authorises the use of such information.
It added that the tech giant had collected classified information from some 980 000 South Korean users through Facebook profiles. This included data on a person's religious beliefs and whether they have a same-sex partner.
Meta to pay more than 21 million
The watchdog said it had evidence that Meta had passed this information to advertisers and that around 4 000 advertising agencies were now using it.
Meta "analysed data on consumer behaviour, including their favourite pages and the ads they clicked on on Facebook" to create and execute targeted advertising on "sensitive topics" such as transgender issues, homosexuality and North Korean defectors, officials said.
The Commission announced on Tuesday that it had decided to fine Meta 21.6 billion won (USD 15.6 million).
It added that "the company was also ordered to form a legal basis for handling classified information, implement security measures and respond promptly to users' requests for access to their personal data".
The decision is "significant in that it ensures that foreign operators providing services around the world are required to comply with their obligations under the (South Korean) Protection Act in relation to the handling of classified information".
Based on ELTA reports
