Seoul: Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has been fined 21.6 billion won (US$15.6 million) by South Korea's data protection watchdog for unlawfully collecting sensitive data from users without notice and sharing it with advertisers.According to Yonhap News Agency, the Personal Information Protection Commission imposed the penalty after a plenary meeting on Monday. The commission found that Meta collected data on religious and political views, marital status, and sexual orientation from approximately 980,000 local Facebook users, violating the Personal Information Protection Act. This act prohibits the use of such sensitive information without the user's consent.Meta was also accused of transferring this information to around 4,000 advertisers, who then used it to tailor ads to users' personal interests. The commission noted that Meta failed to clearly communicate where the personal data was being used in its data policy and did not seek user consent or implement adequate p rotective measures.Additionally, the commission highlighted that Meta allowed hackers to change passwords of disabled accounts using fake IDs, which led to the personal information of 10 South Korean users being leaked. Meta has been instructed to provide legal justification for its use of sensitive information, implement measures to ensure data safety, and respond promptly to users' requests to access their personal information.
- October 12, 2026
