Lawmakers press Facebook over Chinese data sharing
Lawmakers press Facebook over Chinese data sharing
By David Shepardson June 6, 2018
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two key U.S. lawmakers on
Wednesday rebuked Facebook Inc for not being more transparent over its data
sharing after the social media giant said it had collaborated with at least
four Chinese companies, including a smartphone maker that has raised U.S.
security concerns.
The top Republican and Democrat on the U.S. House Energy
and Commerce Committee said Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg should
have disclosed those partnerships when he appeared before them in April.
"Clearly, the company’s partnerships with Chinese
technology companies and others should have been disclosed before Congress and
the American people," the panel's Republican chairman Greg Walden and
ranking Democrat Frank Pallone said in a statement.
"We strongly encourage full transparency from
Facebook and the entire tech community," they wrote.
On Tuesday, Facebook said Huawei, computer maker Lenovo
Group, and smartphone makers OPPO and TCL Corp were among about 60 companies
worldwide that received access to some user data after they signed contracts to
re-create Facebook-like experiences for their users.
Huawei, the world's third-largest smartphone maker, has
come under scrutiny from U.S. intelligence agencies who argue that Chinese
telecommunications companies provide an opportunity for foreign espionage and
threaten critical U.S. infrastructure, something the Chinese have consistently
denied.
Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, a Democrat, said in
a post on Twitter on Wednesday that he would close his Facebook page.
"What Facebook did will likely result in
imprisonment or other punishment of Chinese young people. Facebook is amoral.
It's all about the money for them," he wrote.
Senator Ed Markey, a Democrat, said on Twitter:
"Mark Zuckerberg needs to return to Congress and testify why @facebook
shared Americans’ private information with questionable Chinese
companies."
He sent a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee on Wednesday asking them to call Zuckerberg to testify.
Facebook said on Tuesday it would end the Huawei pact
this week, was ending the other three Chinese partnerships, and that more than
half the partnerships had already been wound down.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman had no comment on
the companies' agreements.
Members of Congress expressed concern after The New York
Times reported that the data of users' friends could have been accessed without
their explicit consent. Facebook denied that and said the data access was to
allow its users to access account features on mobile devices.
The Federal Trade Commission, which settled with Facebook
in 2011 over its information-sharing practices, declined comment on these most
recent allegations.
In a separate letter on Tuesday, the Senate Commerce
Committee also pressed Facebook for more information, while the Senate
Intelligence Committee's top Democrat urged Facebook to release further
details.
Facebook said it would address the Commerce Committee's
questions.
Congressional staff have said the company still has not
answered hundreds of questions from lawmakers after Zuckerberg's testimony
before two committees in April.
Several congressional aides said members of Congress were
waiting for Facebook's answers before deciding whether to hold additional
hearings.
Other companies that have used Facebook data sharing
include Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, HTC Corp, Microsoft Corp and Samsung
Electronics Co Ltd, Facebook has said.
Several countries are scrutinizing the social network
after it failed to protect the data of some 87 million users that was shared
with now-defunct political data firm Cambridge Analytica.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Additional reporting by
Diane Bartz; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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