AfterDawn: Tech news

Facebook on defensive after latest data sharing scrutiny

Written by James Delahunty @ 21 Dec 2018 3:37 User comments (1)

Facebook on defensive after latest data sharing scrutiny

A report from the New York Times into how Facebook shared user information with third-party services has the social network on the defensive.
The report detailed how Facebook has shared access to user data with third parties including Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Microsoft and more over the years. However, the company responded to the report insisting that no user data was shared with those third parties without authorization.

"None of these partnerships or features gave companies access to information without people's permission, nor did they violate our 2012 settlement with the FTC," wrote Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, Director of Developer Platforms and Programs, at Facebook.

Furthermore, most of the features driven by the data sharing are now gone. Facebook shut down instant personalization, which powered Bing's features, in 2014, but did acknowledge that it had left APIs in place after the shutdown that left some partners with access to data until late 2017. The social network stresses that Instant Personalization only involved public information.



Facebook has been scrutinized in several countries by politicians and regulators for its use of user data, and allegations that it has been used as a means to influence elections by Russia, Iran, and other states.

The original New York Times article can be read at: www.nytimes.com
Facebook's response can be read at: newsroom.fb.com

Tags: Facebook
Previous Next  

1 user comment

129.12.2018 12:39

I have just HAD it with "Two-Facebook". First selling private and personally identifiable information, then giving it away [yeah right, that really happened], to cutting deals with all cell phone manufacturers to embed Facebook in their operating systems so it can't even be removed. Enough already! I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 9, and I have been the most loyal Samsung fanboy since the inception of the Galaxy series. Every year I get the newest "next big thing"...but no more. How can I contact Samsung to demand a software re-work to allow the absolute removal of this malware? It's gotten so bad, and the integration so complete, that at many sites customers are REQUIRED to sign in or complete transactions with Facebook. I no longer do business with any site that has this requirement. For Facebook to report that Facebook removal by customers is minimal just means that the scam has worked, because for the most part Facebook is embedded in operating systems AND CANNOT BE REMOVED. To uninstall simply causes an automatic reinstall by your phone manufacturer. This is intolerable! The very definition of malware is software that cannot be removed. I don't know what kind of deal Samsung cut with Facebook to get it embedded. but they had better get it "un-embedded" or at least allow it to be completely uninstalled or face the financial consequences. Cell phone makers like Samsung are now complicit in the theft and sale of private customer information.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 29 Dec 2018 @ 12:41

Comments have been disabled for this article.

News archive