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South Korea’s Supreme Court Upholds $4.6 Million Fine Against Meta for Data Privacy Violations

March 13, 2025

By The South Asia Times

SEOUL – South Korea’s top court has rejected Meta’s appeal against a 6.7 billion-won (US$4.6 million) fine imposed by the country’s data protection watchdog for sharing user information without consent, judicial sources confirmed on Thursday.

The fine, originally issued in November 2020 by the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), followed an investigation that found Meta—formerly known as Facebook—had provided the personal information of at least 3.3 million South Korean users to third parties without their knowledge between May 2012 and June 2018, according to Yonhap News.

Meta challenged the decision in March 2021, arguing that the data-sharing practices were conducted with user consent and that the company had not coerced users into agreeing. However, after lower courts upheld the penalty in rulings issued in October 2023 and September last year, the Supreme Court has now confirmed the PIPC’s measures as lawful and dismissed Meta’s appeal.

Following the ruling, the PIPC announced that it would proceed with enforcing corrective measures against Meta, which had been on hold due to the legal battle. The decision marks a significant step in South Korea’s efforts to strengthen data privacy protections and hold tech giants accountable for user data handling practices.