Facebook confirms data sharing with Huawei, 3 other Chinese firms
New York, June 6 : Facebook has admitted sharing users' data with Chinese company Huawei -- facing the heat in the US over data privacy concerns -- along with three other China-based smartphone makers Lenovo, OPPO and TCL.
According to a report in Financial Times on Tuesday, Francisco Varela, vice president of Mobile Partnerships at Facebook, said that many technology companies have worked with Huawei.
"Facebook's integrations with Huawei, Lenovo, OPPO and TCL were controlled from the get-go -- and we approved the Facebook experiences these companies built," Varela said in a statement.
"Given the interest from Congress, we wanted to make clear that all the information from these integrations with Huawei was stored on the device, not on Huawei's servers," the Facebook executive added.
The Facebook confirmation came a day after The New York Times reported that the social media giant provided access to users' data to at least 60 different device makers -- including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Samsung and BlackBerry.
There are concerns in the US among the FBI, CIA, NSA, the Federal Communications Commission and House Intelligence Committee over Huawei devices.
In February, FBI Director Chris Wray said the FBI was "deeply concerned" about the risks posed by Huawei and ZTE. The US military has banned phones made by Huawei and ZTE.
According to Senator Mark Warner, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the concerns about Huawei were not new.
"The news that Facebook provided privileged access to Facebook's API [application programming interface] to Chinese device makers like Huawei and TCL raises legitimate concerns, and I look forward to learning more about how Facebook ensured that information about their users was not sent to Chinese servers," he said in a statement late Tuesday.
"Concerns about Huawei aren't new - they were widely publicised beginning in 2012, when the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released a well-read report on the close relationships between the Chinese Communist Party and equipment makers like Huawei," Warner added.
The Senate Commerce Committee has already sent a letter to Facebook over the reports that it shared data with device makers.
Earlier, the social network defended the pacts with device makers, saying that these partnerships do not raise privacy concerns.
Facebook said that the partners signed agreements that prevented people's 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," Ime Archibong, Facebook's Vice President of Product Partnerships, said in a statement.
Facebook launched the device-integrated APIs about a decade ago and said that all these partnerships were built on a common interest -- the desire for people to be able to use Facebook whatever their device or operating system.
"Given that these APIs enabled other companies to recreate the Facebook experience, we controlled them tightly from the get-go," Archibong said.
Facebook said that it had already ended 22 of the device partnerships.
"Now that iOS and Android are so popular, fewer people rely on these APIs to create bespoke Facebook experiences. It's why we announced in April that we're winding down access to them. We've already ended 22 of these partnerships," Archibong noted.
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Akhilesh claims BJP failed to ensure women's safety in UP, just raised slogans
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav launched a scathing attack on Wednesday against the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government over Uttar Pradesh's law-and-order situation, saying the ruling party's claims of women empowerment have become "mere slogans".
Just a week ahead of the bypolls to nine Assembly seats in the state, the former chief minister highlighted the efforts made by the Samajwadi party when it was in power in Uttar Pradesh that included the distribution of over 18 lakh laptops to students for free to improve the educational standards.
Noting that the BJP had promised laptops and WiFi in its manifesto, Yadav claimed that the party failed to deliver on its promises. "They distributed a few tablets which are barely functional, whereas the laptops given under our administration are still being used," he claimed.
In a press statement, the SP chief said, "The BJP's claims about ensuring women's safety are false. The government cannot point to a single accomplishment based on facts and reasoning. Any attempt to discredit the initiatives undertaken during the Samajwadi Party's tenure will not succeed."
He highlighted several incidents, including the Hathras rape case, to question BJP's commitment to women's safety. Yadav claimed that the "family of the Hathras rape victim was denied the right" to perform her last rites.
"The incident of a gang rape in BHU involving individuals connected to the BJP IT cell was hushed up and efforts were made to protect the accused," Yadav alleged.
Citing NCRB statistics, he claimed that incidents of crimes against women are highest in Uttar Pradesh, indicating the state's failure to curb these crimes. "Women are unsafe even within police stations and several cases of female police officers facing assault have emerged," Yadav added.
To underline his government's initiatives in support of women's education and empowerment, Yadav mentioned the initiation of unemployment allowances, financial support for girls' education, and free textbooks for students from Classes one to eight.
"Our government's record in promoting educational and financial support for female students remains a challenge for the BJP dispensation," he claimed.
The Samajwadi Party's statement also made references to schemes such as the 1090 service for women's safety, and the 108 Ambulance Service that provide quick hospital transport for accident victims.
"The BJP has turned the international-standard Dial 100 service, launched to ensure immediate police response, into a corrupt system under '112,'" Yadav alleged, adding that BJP's "Romeo Squad" initiative for women's safety is nowhere to be seen today.
Referring to the dismissal of female workers engaged in the Dial 100 service last year, he termed it "inhumane", adding that these workers were "forced to sit in protest under cold and rainy conditions during Diwali.
"The Samajwadi Party stood with them during those difficult times," he said.
The Samajwadi Party chief slammed the BJP for its "false promises" and alleged that in Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh, women's lives remain precariously insecure. He asserted that attempts to mislead the public would not succeed, as "the truth is that daughters are most fearful under the BJP's rule."
Taking to social media, Yadav shared a report that cited comments of women protestors in Prayagraj who are staging a sit-in against the UP Public Service Commission (UPPSC) and lauded them for their bravery.
Bypolls will be held on nine assembly seats of the state on November 20 and the Samajwadi Party is contesting all of them as it takes on the BJP in eight seats and its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal in one. The Bahujan Samaj Party was also in the fray. The Congress is not contesting the bypolls and supporting its INDIA bloc partner Samajwadi Party.
Votes will be counted on November 23.
Eight of these seats fell vacant after their MLAs were elected as Lok Sabha MPs. The bypoll in the Sisamau seat is being held as Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki was convicted in a criminal case.
