South Korea Fines TikTok $7 Million Over Personalised Ads And Privacy Violations

South Korea’s privacy watchdog has fined TikTok 10.3 billion won (about $7 million) for unlawfully collecting users’ behavioural data and using it to deliver personalised advertisements without obtaining proper consent.

The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said TikTok Pte Ltd, the Singapore-based operator of the platform in South Korea, violated the country’s data protection laws by tracking users’ online activity through third-party websites.

According to the regulator, TikTok collected behavioural information from around 9.45 million South Korean users using tracking tools embedded on external websites.

The commission found that the company failed to clearly inform users about the data collection or obtain valid consent before using the information for targeted advertising.

Along with the financial penalty, the PIPC ordered TikTok to strengthen its privacy practices and implement corrective measures to comply with South Korean regulations.

The commission also fined Apple subsidiaries a combined 252 million won for privacy violations related to the Siri voice assistant.

Regulators found that Apple stored users’ Siri voice recordings and text transcripts without obtaining adequate consent.

While the company requested permission to collect voice recordings, it did not properly seek consent to retain text transcripts.

The action follows another major enforcement by the PIPC last month against e-commerce giant Coupang.

The regulator imposed a record 624.7 billion won (around $410 million) fine after concluding that the company exposed the personal data of more than 37 million users and collected online behavioural information without proper authorisation.

The PIPC described the penalty as the largest it has ever imposed on a single company. It said poor security management, rather than a sophisticated cyberattack, led to the data breach.

Coupang has expressed regret over the decision and said it plans to challenge the findings through legal proceedings.