South Korea Penalizes Meta for Misuse of Sensitive User Data

South Korea has fined Meta Platforms 21.62 billion won ($15.67 million) for collecting sensitive user data and sharing it with advertisers without consent, according to Seoul’s data protection agency.

The Personal Information Protection Commission reported that Meta gathered data from around 980,000 South Korean Facebook users, including details on religion, political views, and sexuality, without seeking user agreement.

This data was shared with approximately 4,000 advertisers, with users being categorized by characteristics, including North Korean defector status, religious affiliation, and LGBTQ+ identity.

The commission also noted that Meta analysed user behaviors, such as liked pages and clicked ads, to create advertising themes based on sensitive information.