September 15, 2022 – South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has fined Meta $22 million and Google $50 million for privacy violations, according to a statement by the authority.
The tech giants obtained users’ data without clearly seeking their prior consent, the privacy panel stated. They tracked their online behaviour to analyse their interests and used their data for targeted advertisements.
Google disagreed with the PIPC’s findings and will be reviewing the authority’s written decision once it is shared with them.
“We’ve always demonstrated our commitment to making ongoing updates that give users control and transparency, while providing the most helpful products possible,” said a Google spokesperson. “We remain committed to engaging with the PIPC to protect the privacy of South Korean users.”
Meta, on the other hand, hinted at going to court against the PIPC’s decision.
“While we respect the commission’s decision, we are confident that we work with our clients in a legally compliant way that meets the processes required by local regulations,” a Meta spokesperson said. “As such, we do not agree with the commission’s decision, and will be open to all options including seeking a ruling from the court.”
On Wednesday, Google also lost its appeal against the 2018 antitrust fine of $4 billion imposed by the European Union for abusing its Android dominance in the market.
Earlier this month, the Data Protection Commission slapped Meta with a fine of $400 million after concluding a two-year investigation into the company’s potential breaches of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Meta allowed young users aged between 13 and 17 to sign up on Instagram with business accounts, which displayed their phone numbers and email addresses publicly. The investigation found that a user registration system on Instagram set the accounts belonging to minors to “public” by default.
