<a href="https://www.world-today-news.com/proven-dangerous-meta-remove-facebook-face-scanning-technology/" title="Proven Dangerous, Meta Remove Facebook Face Scanning Technology”>Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was fined $15 million by South Korea for illegally collecting sensitive personal information about Facebook users.
What happened : South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission found that Mark Zuckerberghead of Meta, was guilty of illegally collecting sensitive personal information about Facebook users, such as details about their political opinions and sexual orientation. This information was then shared with thousands of advertisers, reported l’Associated Press.
The commission conducted a four-year investigation that found Meta collected sensitive information on nearly 980,000 Facebook users between July 2018 and March 2022. This included their religion, political views and whether they were in same-sex union. The company then shared this data with approximately 4,000 advertisers.
Under South Korean privacy law, companies are prohibited from processing or using such data without the specific consent of the data subjects. The commission also found that Meta failed to implement basic security measures, leading to data breaches affecting at least 10 South Korean Facebook users.
This is not the first time Meta has faced sanctions in South Korea. In 2022, the company was fined a total of 100 billion won ($72 million) for tracking consumers’ online behavior without their consent and using their data for targeted advertising.
Why it matters : The fine is the latest in a series of sanctions taken against Meta by South Korean authorities, reflecting a growing global trend of scrutiny over big tech companies’ handling of private information. In September, European regulators also fined Meta more than $100 million for a security breach in 2019.
Despite these legal challenges, Meta has made significant progress in technology and defense sectors. Earlier this week, the company announced a partnership with Amazon et Microsoft to provide its Llama artificial intelligence models for national security and defense applications.
During this time, the analysts were optimistic about Meta’s AI capabilities, Bank of America called it “Story AI” and highlighted the rapid and growing adoption of Llama and Meta AI. The company also raised its ad revenue estimates on product attraction and expects Meta’s AI-driven ad enhancements to come to fruition in 2025.
Price movement : On Tuesday, Meta stock closed at $572.43, up 2.10% for the day. After the close, the stock was down 0.42%. This year, the stock has gained 65.30%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote
