SEOUL – South Korea has fined Facebook parent Meta more than $15 million for illegally collecting sensitive user information from nearly a million people without consent and sharing it with advertisers, the regulator said Tuesday. country data control.

The firm, which also owns Instagram, violated laws that prohibit the use of information about people’s political opinions, religious beliefs and sex life unless the person gives explicit consent, the Seoul Personal Information Protection Commission added.

It added that the tech giant collected sensitive information from about 980,000 domestic users in South Korea through their Facebook profiles.

These included details of their religious beliefs and whether they were in a same-sex relationship.

The watchdog said it confirmed that such information was provided to advertisers by Meta, with about 4,000 advertisers using it.

Meta “analyzed user behavior data, including pages liked and ads clicked on Facebook,” to create and deploy targeted ads related to “sensitive topics” such as transgender issues, homosexuality and North Korean defectors, officials said.

The commission said Tuesday it had decided to fine Meta 21.6 billion won ($15.6 million).

It added that it “ordered the company to establish legal grounds for processing sensitive information, implement security measures and diligently respond to users’ requests for access to their personal data.”

The decision is “significant in that it ensures that foreign operators providing global services must comply with the obligations set out in the Protection Act (South Korea) regarding the processing of sensitive information.”