Tech Talk: Facebook gave device makers ‘vast amounts’ of data on users and friends

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The New York Times reports that through a series of agreements, Facebook gave makers of smartphones and other electronic devices access to "vast amounts" of its users' personal information. (MONTCO.Today file photo)

Over the years, as Facebook sought to establish itself as the world’s dominant social media site,  it struck agreements allowing phone and other device makers access to vast amounts of its users’ personal information.

The partnerships raise concerns about the company’s privacy protections and compliance with a 2011 consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission, write Gabriel J.X. Dance, Nicholas Confessore and Michael Laforgia at nytimes.com.

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Facebook has reached data-sharing partnerships with at least 60 device makers — including Apple, Amazon, BlackBerry, Microsoft and Samsung — over the last decade, starting before Facebook apps were widely available on smartphones, company officials said. The deals allowed Facebook to expand its reach and let device makers offer customers popular features of the social network, such as messaging, “like” buttons and address books.

Most of the partnerships remain in effect, though Facebook began winding them down in April.

To read the full story, click here.

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