South Korea imposes record privacy fines on Google and Meta

South Korea on Wednesday imposed record fines on Google and Facebook parent company Meta for violating privacy laws, amid growing concerns over a lack of protection of personal information in the hyper-digital society.

The State Personal Information Protection Commission announced that Google has been fined 69.2 billion won ($50 million) and Meta 30.8 billion won ($22 million) for leaking personal information without prior notice Collected user consent and used it to tailor online advertising.

The DPA said US companies' business practices could result in serious privacy violations because they failed to properly inform users and obtain their consent to collect and analyze behavioral data from their online activities.

The fines were the highest ever imposed for breaches of data protection law. The data protection body ordered that there should be a "simple and clear" procedure for obtaining consent from users, by asking them if they wish to share information about their online activities.

The move comes at a time when countries around the world are rushing to put big tech companies in their place as they are increasingly accused of abusing power and using their global influence. Google and Facebook paid around A$200m to Australian media companies last year under new regulations that rebalance the tech titans and media companies.

The world's biggest tech companies, including Apple, Google, Amazon, <a class="tvreplink" target="_blank" href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/?symbol=Nasdaq%3AMSFT">Microsoft and Meta, have agreed to comply with an Indonesian content law that threatens freedom of expression in Southeast Asia's largest economy. This is the latest trade-off the industry has made to secure access to an important market.

South Korea's communications regulator is also investigating Google and Apple for possible violations of the country's in-app payment rules. Last year, South Korea became the first country in the world to crack down on lucrative commissions from Google and Apple's app stores after it passed a law allowing cellphone users to pay software developers directly for their apps.

Google and Apple have pledged to comply with the rules, but the Communications Commission of Korea now suspects the two companies may have violated the landmark telecoms law by refusing to comply with it in practice.

Meta today appealed the data breach decision, saying: "While we respect the Commission's decision, we are confident that we are working with our clients in a legally compliant manner that follows the processes required by local regulations We therefore disagree with the Commission's decision and will pursue all avenues, including a court decision.

Google also said it disagreed with the panel's findings. "We have always demonstrated our commitment to ongoing updates that offer users control and transparency while providing the most helpful products. We remain committed to working with the PIPC to protect the privacy of South Korean users," the statement said Company.

The technology companies can appeal against the fines within three months through administrative lawsuits.