South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) slapped a 6.7 billion won fine on Facebook Inc. for sharing information of at least 3.3 million South Koreans to other companies without their consent from May 2012 to June 2018.
Such an act is violative of South Korea's personal information law.
The fine marked the watchdog's first punishment against Facebook since it was launched in August this year.
According to the PIPC, when users logged into other company's services using their Facebook accounts, the personal information of their friends such as names, addresses, dates of birth, work experience, hometowns, and relationship statuses was divulged.
Facebook Ireland Ltd., which was in charge of South Korean operations from May 2012 to June 2018, will face criminal investigation.
Facebook Ireland's director in charge of user privacy could face up to five years in prison or a maximum of 50 million won in fines if convicted.
The information could have been being provided to up to 10,000 other companies, although Facebook did not provide relevant documentation to ascertain the exact amount of information shared.
The country had 18 million local users during the said period.
The PIPC, who said that Facebook was uncooperative and submitted incomplete or false documents, fined Facebook with a separate penalty of 66 million won for the false documentation.
Facebook said it would closely review PIPC's measure, claiming it had cooperated with the investigation in its entirety.
The Korea Communications Commission began investigations into Facebook in 2018 before handing it off to the commission.


Tech Stock Positioning Nears Neutral as Investor Rotation Enters Final Phase, Deutsche Bank Says
CATL Shares Jump as $5.6 Billion Buyback Signals Confidence in Long-Term Growth
Galp Shares Fall After Q2 EBITDA Miss Despite Profit Beat and Higher Dividend
ASML, Applied Materials Slide as China DUV Chip Equipment Breakthrough Sparks Market Jitters
Standard Chartered Beats Profit Forecasts as First-Half Earnings Rise 9%
Serica Energy to Acquire Pharos Energy for £145.7M, Sending PHARP Shares Soaring
Seagate Stock Jumps as AI-Fueled Earnings Beat and Strong FY2027 Outlook Impress Investors
Johnson & Johnson Proposes $5.5 Billion Talc Settlement to Resolve U.S. Ovarian Cancer Lawsuits
TeamViewer Shares Fall Despite Profit Growth as ARR and Customer Base Decline
Air Liquide Q2 Sales Growth Tops Forecast as Electronics Business Drives Strong Performance
Zabka Shares Drop 10% as Seven & i Abandons Investment Plans
AstraZeneca Q2 Earnings Beat Forecasts as Oncology Growth Supports 2026 Outlook
CXMT IPO Debut in Shanghai Puts $85.5 Billion Chipmaker in Spotlight
Unilever Raises 2026 Sales Outlook After Strong Q2 Volume Growth
Nvidia Eyes $250B Guarantee for OpenAI’s Massive Ohio AI Data Center Project
Zhongji Innolight Raises $6.8 Billion in Hong Kong IPO as AI Demand Fuels Growth
Exosens H1 Profit Beats Forecasts as Defense Demand Drives Growth 



