South Korea has fined Google and Meta more than $71 million collectively for gathering users' personal information without consent for tailored ads, regulators said Wednesday.
Investigations into the two US tech giants found they had been "collecting and analysing" data on their users, and monitoring their use of websites and applications.
According to the report, the data was used to "infer the users' interests or used for customised online advertisements."
Neither Google nor Meta had clearly informed South Korean users of this practice or obtained their consent in advance, it added.
As a result, Google was fined 69.2 billion won ($49.7 million) and Meta 30.8 billion won ($22.1 million).
"It is the largest fine for the violation of the Personal Information Protection Act," the commission said in a statement.
In 2021, South Korea fined Google nearly $180 million for abusing its dominance in the mobile operating systems and app markets.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
