South Korea's Watchdog Fines Google and Meta $71.8 Million for Collecting User Information Without Their Consent

On Wednesday, Sept. 14, South Korean authorities found tech giants Google and Meta guilty of violating the country's privacy law.

The authorities fined the two companies a total of $71.8 million.

South Korea's Privacy Law

According to TechCrunch, Google and Meta did not inform users that they would collect their information when visiting social media sites.

The two tech giants did not inform users that they would use their collected data for customized advertisements.

South Korean authorities also accused Google of setting the default choice to "agree" when users sign up for the company's services, leaving them no choice but to share their online behavioral information.

As for Meta, the authorities found the company guilty of violating personal information protection rules.

South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission or PIPC ordered the tech giants to correct the violations and imposed fines of $50 million on Google and $22 million on Meta.

This marks the country's largest penalty on businesses violating its personal information protection laws. This is the country's first sanction for collecting and using user information for customized advertisements.

A Meta spokesperson said that the company works with its clients to ensure that it meets the process required by regulators; thus, it does not agree with the authorities' decision and will seek a ruling from the court.

Data Protection Regulations

This is not the first time overseas watchdogs have fined Google and Meta for their non-compliance with the data protection regulations.

In 2019, French authorities CNIL fined Google $57 million for transparency and consent violations. This was the first time the French data protection watchdog issued its first General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR.

According to Reuters, Europe's GDPR allows users to control their personal data and give regulators the power to impose fines of up to 4% of global revenue on any tech giant that violates the law.

CNIL decided to fine Google after two non-governmental organizations, None of Your Business and La Quadrature, filed a complaint against the tech giant.

Meanwhile, Meta's WhatsApp was fined $267 million for breaching GDPR's transparency principle in 2021.

According to CNBC, Ireland's Data Protection Commission said that WhatsApp did not tell its European users that it would use its data to create personalized ads. WhatsApp also failed to tell users that it would share their data with Facebook.

The Data Protection Commission also ordered WhatsApp to change its privacy policies and how it communicates with its users so it complies with Europe's privacy law.

Germany's Federal Cartel Office also ordered a limit on Meta's data gathering on users from third-party companies without their consent.

WhatsApp appealed to the court and argued that the platform provides a secure and private service. The company also said that its information is transparent and comprehensive and called the penalties disproportionate.

WhatsApp's FAQ section clearly states that it shares phone numbers, business interactions, transaction data, mobile device information, and even IP addresses with Facebook.

The platform also states that it does not share personal conversations, call logs, or location data with third-party companies or Facebook.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sophie Webster