South Korea: Google and Meta Fined $72M for Violating Privacy Law

Facts

South Korea’s Personal Information and Protection Commission has fined Google $50M and Meta $22M for tracking consumers’ online behavior without consent and using data for targeted advertisements.
This is the steepest penalty ever given in South Korea for violating information protection laws and Seoul’s first fine regarding misuse of information on customized advertising platforms.
Alleged privacy violations include Google hiding its setting screen on data collection and setting the default to ‘agree.’ Meta is accused of only asking for agreements when a user creates an account and doing so in an unclear manner.
In response, Google stated that it has always demonstrated a commitment to “making ongoing updates that give users control and transparency”. Meta argued it was “confident that we work with our clients in a legally compliant way that meets the processes required by local regulations”.
According to the investigation, over 82% of Korean Google users and 98% of Korean Meta users had set their privacy and data settings to allow the collection of their behavioral information by other firms.

Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Daily Sabah. This is a positive sign. Previous actions from governments to regulate tech giants haven’t been effective, especially when safeguarding user data. Institutions worldwide must continue to apply pressure if we wish to see real change. We need stronger regulation to protect the privacy of individuals.
Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Koaa. Government regulation can’t be the sole solution. Individual users must be more vigilant to check their settings and actually read the fine print about what information is collected and how it’s used. We should know by now that our phones and apps constantly gather data on us. This is about the consumer level — buyer beware.