South Korea fines Meta about $15 million over collection of user data

New Delhi: South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has levied a fine of approximately $15.67 million on Meta Platforms, the parent company of social media giant Facebook, for the unauthorised collection and sharing of sensitive user data.

This action comes after an extensive four-year investigation into Meta's data practices within the region.

As per the reports, the PIPC found that Meta had collected personal information from about 980,000 South Korean Facebook users without their explicit consent. This information included details about users' religious beliefs, political views, and sexual orientations, which were subsequently shared with around 4,000 advertisers for targeted advertising purposes. 

"Specifically, it has been found that Meta analysed user behaviour data, such as pages they liked and advertisements they clicked on, to create and manage advertising themes related to sensitive information," stated the PIPC in their official release.

In response to the fine, a Meta Korea official mentioned that the company would "carefully review the decision," but did not offer further comments at this time.