Facebook shared user data with flagged Chinese firm – report

MENLO PARK, California — The New York Times has reported that Facebook has acknowledged it shared user data with several Chinese handset manufacturers, including Huawei, a company flagged by United States intelligence officials as a national security threat.

The Times said Facebook acknowledged that handset makers — Huawei, Lenovo, Oppo, and TCL — were among the 60 companies which it had shared data with as early as 2007. Facebook told the newspaper it planned to wind down the Huawei deal this week.

The data included work and education history, relationship status, and likes on device users and their friends.

The report did not say the data was misused.

Facebook did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

US Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said he wants to know how Facebook ensured data was not transferred to Chinese servers. /kga