South Korea fines Meta for illegal collection of user data

SEOUL, South Korea: US tech giant Meta illegally harvested sensitive data including on sexual orientation from nearly a million South Korean Facebook users and shared it with advertisers, Seoul’s data watchdog said Tuesday.

The firm, which also owns Instagram, violated South Korean laws prohibiting the use of information on political opinions, religious beliefs and people’s sex life unless the individual provides explicit consent, Seoul’s Personal Information Protection Commission said.