Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Monday, Aug 04, 2025

Facebook imposed face recognition tech on 200,000 South Koreans & took social security info without consent, data watchdog finds

Facebook imposed face recognition tech on 200,000 South Koreans & took social security info without consent, data watchdog finds

Facebook created and stored facial recognition details on 200,000 users in South Korea by harvesting info from videos and photos without consent, a data privacy audit revealed. It also illegally collected social security numbers.
The country’s personal information protection watchdog ordered Facebook to pay 6.4 billion won ($5.5 million) for the unauthorized use of user-image information for its automated facial recognition software between April 2018 and September 2019.

Announcing the preliminary findings of its privacy probe on Wednesday, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said Facebook had “preset consent” for the feature for new profiles created on the platform.

The regulatory body also stated that users were prevented from revoking consent using the settings tool later.

The social media giant was penalized another 26 million won ($22,000) for a number of violations, including obtaining resident registration numbers in an “illicit manner” and not issuing notices to users about changes to its privacy and personal-information management policies.

The PIPC ordered Facebook to either obtain consent for the stored facial information or erase it. As well, the company was ordered to disclose and delete data related to the international transfer of users’ personal information. It was also barred from processing identity numbers without a legal basis.

Earlier this year, Facebook’s facial recognition tech had come under legal scrutiny after the company settled a class-action lawsuit in the US and was forced to change its photo face-tagging feature over privacy concerns.

The ‘Tag Suggestions’ tool generated automatic tagging suggestions by scanning previously uploaded images to identify people in new photos and link to their profiles.

It had to pay out $650 million to 1.6 million Illinois-based users, who had alleged the company broke the state’s biometric information privacy law by not getting their consent before scanning their photos to digitally store their faces.

Netflix and Google were also pulled up by the Korean regulatory body for violations of personal information protection laws. It fined the streaming service 220 million won ($188,000) for collecting data from five million people without consent, and another 3.2 million won ($2,700) for failing to notify users about the cross-border transfer of their data.

Meanwhile, Google was handed an official “recommendation” to improve its personal data handling systems and to make its legal notices less vague.

The PIPC stated that its investigation will continue with a legal review of the companies’ compliance with Korean privacy laws – with its director of investigations issuing a warning to overseas companies about the need to “obtain user consent” and “faithfully fulfill their statutory obligations”.

In response, Facebook denied not seeking user approval for facial recognition and claimed that the PIPC had determined the “control setting for face recognition may have been misunderstood by some people”.

“In fact, we’ve always given people the option to turn off facial recognition on Facebook, and two years ago, changed this feature to opt-in only,” an unidentified Facebook spokesperson told the Korea JoongAng Daily newspaper.

This is the second time the PIPC has fined Facebook after imposing a 6.7 billion won ($5.7 million) penalty last November for sharing the personal data of at least 3.3 million users with at most an estimated 10,000 other firms and service providers without their knowledge between May 2012 and June 2018.

The watchdog had said that when people used their Facebook accounts to log onto other sites, their personal information – including names, addresses, birthdays, work experience and relationship statuses – was shared with the other companies.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×