Facebook made deals with device makers that gave them access to user’s information: NYT
Facebook Inc. made agreements with at least 60 makers of phones and other devices that gave them access to the personal information of users’ friends without their consent, The New York Times reported Monday, citing company officials. The companies include Apple Inc. , BlackBerry Ltd. , Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. , the paper reported. The agreements allowed Facebook to expand its reach and let device makers offer customers features, such as messaging, ‘like’ buttons and address books. The scope of the partnerships has not been reported before and raises concerns about the company’s privacy protections, as well as compliance with a 2011 consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission. Most of the agreements are still in place, though Facebook began to wind them down in April, after coming under scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators over data used by Cambridge Analytica, which has declared bankruptcy. Facebook shares are down 1.2% premarket, but have gained about 10% in 2018 to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.3%.