Jun 6, 2018

Facebook confirms data-sharing agreements with Chinese firms

Facebook has confirmed it has a data-sharing partnership with Chinese firms including Huawei, a company US intelligence previously flagged as a security threat. The agreements gave the Chinese firms some access to users' data to help them build Facebook "Experiences" on their own platforms. The New York Times reported earlier this week that Facebook had given at least 60 device-makers access to users' data - and that of their Facebook friends - without obtaining explicit consent and that in some cases the details were stored on the firms' own servers. Senator Mark Warner, who sits on the US Senate Intelligence Committee, said news that Huawei was among the companies getting the privileged access to the Facebook data raised "Legitimate concerns". The firms were at the centre of a dispute over the harvesting and use of personal data - and whether it was used to influence the outcome of the US 2016 presidential election or the UK's referendum on leaving the EU. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in May apologised to EU lawmakers for the company's role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and for allowing fake news to proliferate on its platform.

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