South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has imposed a 21.6 billion won (approximately $15.6 million) fine on Meta for allegedly sharing the sensitive data of 980,000 Facebook users with advertisers without obtaining explicit consent. The regulatory body stated that Meta compiled “advertising topics” from individual users’ Facebook activities and profiles, which were subsequently accessed by about 4,000 advertisers.
The information shared included details considered highly sensitive under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) — encompassing religious affiliations, same-sex marital status, and North Korean defector status. The PIPC deemed this a direct violation of South Korea’s stringent data privacy laws.
A Meta spokesperson responded, affirming their belief that all company operations are in compliance with relevant laws. They noted the intention to review the full decision carefully once available.
South Korea’s PIPA categorizes information about “thoughts, beliefs, political views, sexual life, etc.” as sensitive and mandates exceptional protection, with data processing permitted solely in cases where explicit consent is given. Meta allegedly failed to clarify its data collection and sharing practices and did not obtain additional consent or implement adequate protective measures.
Meta halted its collection of sensitive user information and erased the corresponding advertising profiles following the investigation’s commencement. However, complaints emerged regarding Meta’s refusal to grant users access to their collected data, with some cases reporting unauthorized account access by hackers. According to the PIPC, these incidents occurred because Meta did not remove inactive account recovery pages, allowing hackers to reset passwords with fake IDs. Ten users reportedly had their personal data exposed due to these hacks.
This fine marks the second time Meta has faced penalties in South Korea over data privacy practices. In 2022, the PIPC imposed a 30.8 billion won (around $22 million) fine, accusing Meta of inadequately informing users about its collection and use of behavioral data for advertising.
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