Republic of Korea: PIPC fines Google and Meta a collective USD 72 million for illegal data collection and processing

On 14 September 2022, the Korean Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced it had fined Google and Meta USD 50 million and USD 22 million respectively. The fine is a result of an investigation by the PIPC that determined that Google and Meta had violated the Republic of Korea's privacy laws by collecting and processing personal information of users on their platforms without their explicit consent. This data was, among other things, used to show personalised ad content on the platforms. Google and Meta have the chance to appeal the decision through administrative lawsuits. An appeal would need to be filed within 90 days of receipt of the PIPC's decision.