Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is in the hot seat again, embroiled in its latest privacy scandal.
The social media giant confirmed that four Chinese device-makers had access to customer data, including smartphone maker Huawei.
A New York Times article revealed earlier this week that the platform had shared a broad range of information with device-makers. Before the rise of the app store, device-integrated APIs, or application programming interface, allowed device makers to offer Facebook features to its customers.
Around 60 device-makers were involved in data-sharing partnerships including Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Blackberry Limited (NYSE:BB), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).
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Device companies were able to retrieve personal information from users’ friends, according to the Times article.
The U.S. government has expressed concerns that the Chinese government can gather intelligence via Huawei's smartphones. The company has denied those allegations.
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Facebook responded to the Times report in a blog post, saying that information was only made accessible when users made the decision to share it. The company stated it was unaware of any abuse by companies in the data-sharing partnerships and had begun to end the collaborations in April now that the Facebook app is available on most smartphones.
The initial report, as well as new findings, raise concerns about the platform’s privacy practices and its compliance with the 2011 consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC alleged that Facebook had deceived its users, telling them that their information was kept private but then sharing it with third-party applications and advertisers.
U.S. Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) recently sent a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking for more details about Facebook's data privacy policy and security practices. Zuckerberg was given a June 18 deadline to respond to the senators' questions.
Shares of social network fell slightly to US$191.30 in Wednesday after-hours trading.