Facebook had formed data-sharing partnerships with dozens of device makers, including Apple and Samsung, giving them access to information on users, as well as on users’ friends, The New York Times reported.
The Times wrote Sunday on the social media giant’s activities with their customer data following the scandal involving the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. It found that over the past 10 years, the company had at least 60 such deals, a number of which are still in effect, allowing the other companies access to the personal information of Facebook users and their friends.
The partnerships may have also violated a 2011 Federal Trade Commission consent decree which Facebook officials denied.
The new development comes at times when Facebook is under heavy scrutiny for its handling of private data after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica accessed millions of users’ private information. The partnerships allowed companies like Apple, Blackberry, and Amazon to offer users Facebook features, like the ability to post photos, directly from a device without using the Facebook app.
The partnerships also enabled outside companies to access personal user data like relationship status, religious and political affiliations, work history and birthdays, as well as the information of users’ Facebook friends, even if the friends had blocked Facebook from sharing their information with third parties.
Facebook officials told the Times in interviews that the data-sharing partnerships were different from app developers’ access to Facebook users, and that the device makers are considered “extensions” of the social network.
However, security experts and former Facebook engineers are worried that the partnerships offered companies practically unfettered access to hundreds of thousands of Facebook users without their knowledge.
“It’s like having door locks installed, only to find out that the locksmith also gave keys to all of his friends so they can come in and rifle through your stuff without having to ask you for permission,” said Ashkan Soltani, a former FTC chief technologist.
Meanwhile, Facebook has begun terminating the partnerships.
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