While Facebook has yet to recover from its recent data privacy scandal with Cambridge Analytica, it seems that a new report has shed more light onto Facebook’s data-sharing practices which will no doubt raise more eyebrows. In a report from The New York Times, it has been revealed that Facebook has several data-sharing partnerships with several huge tech companies.
The report claims that Facebook has reached data-sharing agreements with at least 60 device makers, including the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, and BlackBerry over the past decade or so. The deals would allow Facebook to expand its reach by integrating some of its features into the devices of these companies, such as “like” buttons, address books, and messaging.
In return, Facebook would allow these companies to access the data of users and their friends without their explicit consent. The report also found that even if the user’s friends had barred any form of sharing, some device makers could still retrieve personal information. The report goes on to claim that many of the partnerships formed are still in effect, although following the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook reportedly started winding them down in April.
Facebook has since responded to the article by The New York Times in a post on its website penned by Ime Archibong, VP of Product Partnerships. According to Archibong, the post claims that these partnerships were formed out of necessity in the early days of smartphones where Facebook tried to get their services to as many users as possible.
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