Why Facebook handed 60 tech companies ‘deep access’ to user data

Reports that social media site had deals
with firms including Apple and Amazon raises fresh privacy
concerns

In Depth

The New York Times claims that the social
media site has had data-sharing deals dating back up to ten years
with companies including Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. These
agreements reportedly allow the firms access to the personal data
of Facebook users and their friends “without their explicit
consent”.

The report raises fresh concerns about Facebook’s privacy
protection protocol and its compliance with a “consent decree” that
it made with the US-based Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2011,
under which the firm is meant to give its users notice if their
personal data is to be used. 

Information made available to the device makers reportedly
includes the relationship status of the user, their religion and
political views, and events they plan to attend, Business Insider reports. 

Some of the tech manufacturers have ended this particular deal
with Facebook, the news site says, but “most of these partnerships
are still in effect”.

Why did Facebook share data with tech
firms? 

Facebook says the data-sharing deals were vital during the
company’s formative years and has denied claims that the
partnerships violate its agreement with the FTC. 

The company’s vice president of product partnerships, Ime
Archibong, said in a blogpost: “These partners signed agreements
that prevented people’s Facebook information from being used for
any other purpose than to recreate Facebook-like experiences.

“Partners could not integrate the user’s Facebook features with
their devices without the user’s permission, and our partnership
and engineering teams approved the Facebook experiences these
companies built.”

Despite Facebook’s denials, the claims will do little to
ease concerns about the firm’s handling of its user
data. 

In March, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg “came under heavy
fire” following reports that the social media site had sold user
information to the now-defunct consulting firm Cambridge
Analytica, which “misused user data in the lead-up to the US
presidential election”, says CNet.

Last month, Zuckerberg apologised to the European Parliament for
Facebook’s role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, saying he was
sorry that the social media site had been used as a tool “for
harm”, the BBC reports.