Meta reportedly exposes info on North Korean defectors to advertisers

Social media giant Meta was found to have exposed sensitive user data of South Koreans and provided it to advertisers without a legal basis, Seoul's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) reportedly said. 

According to PIPC, Meta had obtained information from about 980,000 South Korean Facebook users on issues such as their religion, political views and sexuality without seeking permission from users, reported Reuters. It had then shared the data with an approximate 4,000 advertisers. 

The exposed data also reportedly included users who are North Korean defectors. 

Don't miss: Meta faces lawsuits in Japan over fake celebrity-endorsed investment ads

The commission reportedly said that Meta analysed user behaviour data such as pages they liked and advertisements they clicked on Facebook and created and managed advertising themes related to the sensitive information. 

It added that Meta had "unfairly declined" a request by users to access personal information and that it failed to prevent data on about 10 South Koreans from being leaked by hackers. 

Following which, the commission reportedly fined Meta KR₩21.62 billion. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Meta for a statement. 

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring country of Japan, Meta is facing a lawsuit for not blocking fraudulent social media ads related to investments that feature the names and images of celebrities.

According to multiple Japanese media reports such as NHK and Kyodo News, a total of 30 victims filed lawsuits on Tuesday (29 October) in five district courts across Saitama, Chiba, Yokohama, Osaka, and Kobe against Meta. They are seeking a total of JP¥435 million in damages from Meta and its Japanese arm. 

The suit stated that the victims, after seeing fake ads on social media that impersonated celebrities encouraging investment, were tricked into transferring money to specific accounts under the pretense of investing. The total amount transferred by the victims exceeded JP¥100 million. 

The plaintiffs reportedly claimed that Meta is responsible for reviewing advertisement content and preventing its posting on social media if it can foresee potential harm to users. They argue that the company failed to take adequate measures to stop the scams.

In response, a spokesperson from Meta told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE in October that it does not comment on specific lawsuits. Meanwhile, it said it is enhancing its efforts to combat scam ads and is making substantial investments in various area 

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