Seoul: South Korea's top court has dismissed Meta's appeal against a 6.7 billion-won (US$4.6 million) fine imposed for unauthorized sharing of user data, judicial sources confirmed. The fine was initially levied by the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) after it was discovered that Meta, previously operating as Facebook, had shared personal information of at least 3.3 million South Korean users with third parties without their consent from May 2012 to June 2018.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Meta filed a lawsuit in March 2021 to contest the fine. The company argued that the data sharing was conducted with user consent and that users were not coerced into agreeing. However, the Supreme Court has upheld the PIPC's original findings, confirming the legality of the measures taken against Meta and dismissing the company's appeal. This ruling supports the decisions made by lower courts in October 2023 and September of the previous year.
With the Supreme Court's decision, the PIPC announced its intention to implement corrective measures that had been on hold due to the legal proceedings. The enforcement of these measures marks a significant step in South Korea's data protection efforts.