Google, Meta fined $71.8M for violating privacy law in South Korea
TechCrunchNov 26, 2022
The 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.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
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
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.
