Facebook allowed phone makers to access users' data: Report
New York, June 4: Raising fresh concerns about Facebook's privacy protection policies, a New York Times report has exposed how the social network allowed about 60 device makers, including Apple and Samsung, to access personal information of users and their friends.
Even before Facebook apps were widely available on smartphones, Facebook had data-sharing partnerships with the device makers, the report said citing company officials, adding that most of the deals remain in effect.
While the device partnerships allowed Facebook to expand its reach, it let the phone makers offer customers popular features of the social network, such as messaging, "like" buttons and address books.
The deals raise concerns about the company's privacy protections and compliance with a 2011 consent decree with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), The Times said.
Facebook, which is already under scrutiny for misuse of millions of its users' data after the Cambridge Analytica data leak scandal became public, reportedly allowed the device companies access to the data of users' friends without their explicit consent.
While Facebook's leaders said that the kind of access exploited by the political consulting firm in 2014 was cut off by the next year as it prohibited developers from collecting information from users' friends.
But the company officials did not disclose that such restrictions were not applicable to makers of cellphones, tablets and other hardware, the report said.
However, Facebook officials denied the device partnerships violated its privacy policies, the FTC agreement and pledges to users.
They said its partnerships were governed by contracts that strictly limited use of the data, including any stored on partners' servers, adding that they knew of no cases where the information had been misused.
"These partnerships work very differently from the way in which app developers use our platform," Ime Archibong, a Facebook vice president was quoted as saying.
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PM Modi attends opening ceremony of Arabian Gulf Cup in Kuwait
Kuwait City (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday attended the opening ceremony of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup as the chief guest at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium here, on his two-day visit to the Gulf nation, the first for any Indian prime minister in 43 years.
Modi is visiting Kuwait at the invitation of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
The prime minister joined the Emir, the Crown Prince, and the Prime Minister of Kuwait in witnessing the grand opening ceremony.
The event also provided an opportunity for an informal interaction of the prime minister with the leadership of Kuwait, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.
Kuwait was scheduled to play Oman in the opening game of the eight-team tournament.
Kuwait is hosting the biennial Arabian Gulf Cup with participation from eight countries, including GCC nations, Iraq, and Yemen.
The tournament is one of the most prominent sporting events in the region. Kuwait has won the tournament maximum times among the participating countries.
Earlier, addressing a large gathering of the Indian community at a special event ‘Hala Modi’ at the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Indoor Sports Complex in the city, Modi praised the diaspora's contribution to global growth and said that India has the potential to become the “skill capital of the world”.
“Every year, hundreds of Indians come to Kuwait. You have added an Indian touch to Kuwaiti society. You have filled the canvas of Kuwait with the colors of Indian skills. You have mixed the essence of India's talent, technology, and tradition in Kuwait,” Modi said.
The prime minister expressed happiness about the presence of Indians from diverse corners of the country in the gulf nation and called it a “mini-Hindustan.”
Modi is set to meet the Emir, the Crown Prince, and the Prime Minister of Kuwait on Sunday.
