Facebook Fined in South Korea; Shares User Data Without Consent
Facebook has been fined approximately six million USD in South Korea for sharing user data without their consent. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), an organization who’s key role is to “deliberate on and resolve personal data-related policies, coordinate difference opinions among other government agencies on the processing of personal data,” said that the tech giant shared data of at least 3.3 million out of its 18 million users in Korea to other companies without their consent between May 2012 to June 2018.
The commission has also stated that it would file a criminal complaint against Facebook for breaking local personal information laws. The information shared by Facebook included user’s names, academic history, job history, hometown, and relationship statuses. Facebook also stored user password data without encryption and didn’t regularly notify users when the company access their data.
The investigation against the US tech giant started in 2018 by the Korea Communication Commission, the country’s telecommunication regulator, in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The regulator handed the case to PIPC.
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