South Korea fines Google, Meta over privacy accusations

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission said it fined Google $50 million. (Reuters)

• Google fined $50 million and Meta $22 million

SEOUL: South Korea levied fines running into millions of dollars on Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms following accusations of privacy law violations, authorities said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Personal Information Protection Commission said it fined Google $50 million (69.2 billion won) and Meta $22 million (30.8 billion won).
Google and Meta did not have an immediate comment.
The privacy panel said the firms did not clearly inform service users and obtain prior consent when collecting and analyzing behavioral information to infer their interests or use them for customized advertisements.