Facebook has admitted it allowed Chinese electronics companies Huawei, Lenovo, Oppo and TCL to have special access to its users' data. The arrangement, dating from 2010, gave these Chinese firms detailed information on device users and their friends. In a statement posted on the company's website, Facebook said that in 2010 it "granted limited access to our servers for certain government customers" but did not disclose how many people were affected. Still, Facebook has struggled to gain momentum, and The Federal Trade Commission is presently investigating Facebook over whether its data policies violate a 2011 consent decree with the commission. Facebook has said it is exiting the Huawei deal imminently.
Facebook has admitted it allowed Chinese electronics companies Huawei, Lenovo, Oppo and TCL to have special access to its users' data. The arrangement, dating from 2010, gave these Chinese firms detailed information on device users and their friends. In a statement posted on the company's website, Facebook said that in 2010 it "granted limited access to our servers for certain government customers" but did not disclose how many people were affected. The Federal Trade Commission is presently investigating Facebook over whether its data policies violate a 2011 consent decree with the commission. Facebook has said it is exiting the Huawei deal imminently.