South Korea Fines Meta $15 Million for Data Violations

South Korea has fined Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, 21.62 billion won ($15.67 million) for unlawfully collecting and sharing sensitive user data from approximately 980,000 users without proper consent. The Personal Information Protection Commission revealed that Meta harvested information regarding users' religious beliefs, political views, and sexual orientation, which was then made available to around 4,000 advertisers. The commission emphasized that such data collection violates South Korean laws requiring explicit user consent for sensitive information. Additionally, Meta failed to address user requests for access to their personal data and neglected to prevent a data leak impacting ten South Korean users. The commission mandated Meta to establish legal grounds for data processing, implement safety measures, and adequately respond to user inquiries regarding personal data access. Meta has refrained from commenting on the ruling.