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Facebook fined by South Korea's telecoms regulator as Zuckerberg addresses data breach

Published: 13:35 22 Mar 2018 GMT

Zuckerberg
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admits the company “made mistakes”

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has been fined 396mln won (US$369,705) by South Korea’s telecoms regulator for illegally limiting user access.

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said Facebook failed to ask permission to reroute some users’ access to its services to networks in Hong Kong or the US, instead of using domestic networks, the ABC reported.

READ: UK investigates Cambridge Analytica and Facebook after alleged data breach

The move slowed down connections by as much as 4.5 times for some local Facebook users, the regulator said.

Facebook was fined for violating a law against hurting the interests of users. The KCC also recommended the social media network change its terms of use that state it is unable to guarantee the quality of its services.

The regulator began investigating the issue in May after internet providers received complaints.

Zuckerberg 'really sorry' about Cambridge Analytica scandal

The news serves as another blow to Facebook after chief executive Mark Zuckerberg admitted the company “made mistakes” that led to millions of users having their data improperly used by a political consultancy.

READ: Facebook's handling of data scandal will determine its future, says Goldman Sachs

Cambridge Analytica, which was employed by President Donald Trump’s election campaign in 2016, is accused of exploiting the data on behalf of its clients.

In a statement on his Facebook page on Wednesday, Zuckerberg addressed the allegations for the first time.

“We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you," he said.

"I've been working to understand exactly what happened and how to make sure this doesn't happen again.”

In a later interview with CNN, Zuckerberg said he was “really sorry” about the incident.

Zuckerberg open to regulation and willing to testify before Congress

He also said he would be open to regulation following calls for a clampdown on tech companies.

"I actually am not sure we shouldn't be regulated. I think in general, technology is an increasingly important trend in the world and I actually think the question is more, what is the right regulation, rather than 'yes or no, should it be regulated?'" Zuckerberg told CNN.

Zuckerberg said he would be willing to testify before Congress about the data scandal, although he believes other executives whose jobs are focused on certain areas might be better qualified to answer questions. 

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