South Korea fines Google, Meta $72 million

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission said Wednesday that it fined Meta $22 million and Google $50 million. Officials agreed that the companies’ business practices could cause serious privacy violations. The fines are the biggest penalties that South Korea has ever levied for privacy violations. According to the commission, Meta and Google did not adequately inform users about—or obtain consent for—how they would track users’ online behavior.

How have Google and Meta responded? Google and Meta both disputed the commission’s claims. Meta has indicated that it might challenge the fine in court. Meta’s administrative lawsuit would have to be filed within 90 days from when the companies are formally notified about the commission’s decision. Google said it would review the commission’s full decision once it formally receives it.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson’s report in WORLD magazine about how “fake reality” and peer contagion are leading some teen girls into transgenderism.