SEOUL: A South Korean agency for protecting personal information on Wednesday fined Facebook $6.06 million and sought a criminal investigation for providing users’ personal information to other operators without consent.
The country’s Personal Information Protection Commission, launched in August this year, said in a statement it fined Facebook after a probe found that the personal information of least 3.3 million of the 18 million Facebook users in Korea were provided to operators other than Facebook without their knowledge, from May 2012 to June 2018.
When someone uses another operator’s service through Facebook’s log-in, the personal information of the user’s Facebook friends was provided to other operators without their consent, the commission said.
The commission said it will refer Facebook Ireland Ltd, the recipient of the fine, to the country’s prosecution for a criminal investigation.
“We have cooperating as much as possible throughout the investigation process, we regret that the Personal Information Protection Commission has sought a criminal investigation,” a Seoul-based Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement, declining further comment as Facebook hasn’t yet fully reviewed the details of the decision.
South Korean watchdog fines Facebook $6.1 million for sharing user info without consent
https://arab.news/b2w3v
South Korean watchdog fines Facebook $6.1 million for sharing user info without consent
- Personal information of least 3.3 million of the 18 million Facebook users in Korea were provided without their knowledge
WhatsApp says Russia ‘attempted to fully block’ app
- Moscow has been trying to nudge Russians to use a more tightly controlled domestic online service
SAN FRANCISCO, United States: WhatsApp said Wednesday that Russia “attempted to fully block” the messaging app in the country to push users to a competing state-controlled service, potentially affecting 100 million people.
Moscow has been trying to nudge Russians to use a more tightly controlled domestic online service.
It has threatened a host of Internet platforms with forced slowdowns or outright bans if they do not comply with Russian laws, including those requiring data on Russian users to be stored inside the country.
“Today the Russian government attempted to fully block WhatsApp in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app,” WhatsApp posted on X.
“Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia,” WhatsApp added.
“We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected.”
Critics and rights campaigners say the Russian restrictions are a transparent attempt by the Kremlin to ramp up control and surveillance over Internet use in Russia, amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent during the Ukraine offensive.
That latest developments came after Russia’s Internet watchdog said Tuesday it would slap “phased restrictions” on the Telegram messaging platform, which it said had not complied with the laws.
