South Korea has fined Apple and Google for not complying with the country’s law regulating how companies must handle location data.
According to The Korea Times, the two companies were fined for different offenses. Google was fined $2,179 for not being in compliance with disclosure rules regarding the collection of location data. Apple, on the other hand, was fined $152,530 for the same violation, as well as for collecting location data without user consent, as well as other unnamed violations.
“Location information is a key resource to improve users’ convenience and a foundation for the growth of innovative industries, but we need to consider the protection of individuals’ privacy and social security in using the information,” KCC Chairman Kim Hong-il said, according to The Korea Times.
It is an interesting turn of events for Apple to be fined for more serious privacy violations than Google. The search giant has been in the news many times for issues related to use privacy, while Apple has worked very hard to cultivate a reputation as a privacy-first company.
In this instance, however, Google was fined for a relatively minor disclosure issue, while Apple was fined for actually collecting data without user consent.