Pentagon and Anthropic Clash Over AI Safeguards in National Security Use 
Copper Prices Hit Record Highs as Metals Rally Gains Momentum on Geopolitical Tensions 
Gold Prices Hit Record High Above $5,500 as Iran Strike Fears Fuel Safe-Haven Demand 
Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on Canadian Aircraft Amid Escalating U.S.-Canada Trade Dispute 
First Abu Dhabi Bank Reports 22% Jump in Q4 Profit, Beats Market Expectations 
Meta Stock Surges After Q4 2025 Earnings Beat and Strong Q1 2026 Revenue Outlook Despite Higher Capex 
Indonesia Stocks Face Fragile Sentiment After MSCI Warning and Market Rout 
Microsoft AI Spending Surge Sparks Investor Jitters Despite Solid Azure Growth 
Samsung Electronics Posts Record Q4 2025 Profit as AI Chip Demand Soars 
U.S. and El Salvador Sign Landmark Critical Minerals Agreement to Boost Investment and Trade 
UK Housing Market Gains Momentum in Early 2026 as Mortgage Rates Fall 
Sandisk Stock Soars After Blowout Earnings and AI-Driven Outlook 
U.S. Eases Venezuela Oil Sanctions to Boost American Investment After Maduro Ouster 
OpenAI Reportedly Eyes Late-2026 IPO Amid Rising Competition and Massive Funding Needs 
Woodside Energy Flags Lower 2026 Production Outlook Despite Strong Q4 Revenue Beat 
U.S. Dollar Slides for Second Week as Tariff Threats and Iran Tensions Shake Markets 
Chinalco and Rio Tinto Acquire Controlling Stake in Brazil’s CBA for $903 Million 
Facebook and Netflix were hit with a heavy fine in South Korea. The country’s regulator on personal information protection said that the American tech companies violated some privacy rules, so they were penalized and must pay a combined sum of $5.7 million or ₩6.7 billion.
Yonhap News Agency reported that South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) actually handed down the penalty against three firms - Facebook, Netflix, and Google. They were also ordered to rectify the problems after the probe on the case.
It was mentioned that Facebook received the heaviest penalty in terms of the amount. Mark Zuckerberg’s company was accused of violating the country’s personal information protection act by the commission.
They said that the company created and stored facial recognition templates of around 200,000 users in S. Korea without consent. The country’s data protection agency stated that the storage of templates occurred between April 2018 and September 2019.
This is Facebook’s second time to be penalized by the commission, and it is the second-largest fine that it has imposed as well. It ordered the social media giant to pay ₩6.7 billion in November 2020 for supposedly providing personal details to other parties without any consent from the users.
It was further alleged that FB has been collecting residential registration numbers of Korean users in an illegal way and not informing people about the changes in its personal information management policy.
As for Netflix, it received a penalty of over ₩220 million in fines for collecting personal data of about five million people without their consent even before they complete the registration process for the streaming service. The American over-the-top content platform and production company headquartered in Los Gatos, California, was also held responsible for failing to disclose information on its personal data transfer outside of S. Korea.
The commission did not fine Google, but it issued a recommendation for it to improve its handling of personal information. The PIPC pointed out that the tech firm’s legal notice on the collection of personal information should be made clear as it is vague at this time. The penalties are the initial result of the investigation that was carried out by the PIPC.
Meanwhile, Korea Jongang Daily reported that Facebook denied the allegations that it failed to secure approval for deploying the information. The company said it obtained consent from users for the utilization of facial recognition on their services. On the other hand, Netflix said it has voluntarily fixed the problematic points mentioned by the PIPC.
