The company's reported data sharing arrangement with rogue Chinese company Huawei has got local politicians angry. By Josh Taylor
Zuckerberg is "like a Red Guard waving the White Book," says Hu Jia
Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has thrown his support behind a push to have Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg appear before Australia's parliamentary committee on national security over news the company shared user data with Chinese telecommunications manufacturer Huawei.
It was reported yesterday that Facebook had entered into a data sharing arrangement with several Chinese manufacturers including Huawei, Lenovo, OPPO, and TCL, and allowed these companies to collect user data including address books, likes, and friendships. Facebook has these types of relationships with many companies, including Apple and Google, but politicians in the US, the UK, and Australia have raised concerns about the sharing of the data with Chinese companies, given the relationships between some Chinese-owned companies and the Chinese government. The deputy chair of the joint standing committee on intelligence and security, Labor MP Anthony Byrne, is so concerned over the data handed to Huawei that he has indicated that Zuckerberg would be invited to give evidence before the committee.
It is vital that Facebook explains its data sharing partnership with firms such as Huawei. We need to protect the data of over 15 million Facebook users in Australia. (1/2)
If need be Mr Zuckerberg will be invited to appear before the PJCIS in a public hearing to explain himself to our committee and the Australian people. (2/2).
This call was backed by PM Turnbull, who said he would welcome Zuckerberg giving evidence in Australia. "Well, certainly there are a lot of concerns about Facebook, about privacy ... And I would welcome Facebook coming and testifying before our parliamentary committees, yes," he said.
"We'd love to see the boss. But, naturally, he is the founder, but the important thing everyone is paying a lot of attention to [is] the issue of privacy. And, of course, the question of whether people really know what is being done with their personal data." Turnbull said Facebook had become dominant in people's lives, and it was important to keep a close eye on how data is being used, and ensure people consent to their data being used. Facebook has not yet indicated whether Zuckerberg would appear, but the Facebook founder did not turn up to face UK lawmakers in April, despite repeated requests. He did, however, front the European Parliament in May. The Australian parliamentary committee is due to hand down its report on Thursday on legislation aimed at cracking down on foreign interference in Australia from countries including China. Huawei is also under closer scrutiny in Australia at the moment as the government is considering whether to use new powers to veto mobile telecommunications companies such as Telstra, Optus and Vodafone from using Huawei technology in the construction of their 5G mobile networks. The company has already provided equipment for some of the nation's 4G mobile networks, but was banned from tendering for the National Broadband Network.
Facebook Gave Data Access to Huawei, Rogue Chinese Firm Flagged by U.S. Intelligence
By Michael LaForgia and Gabriel J.X. Dance
Facebook’s logo at an internet conference in Beijing in April. The social network has struck data-sharing partnerships with at least four companies in China. Facebook has data-sharing partnerships with at least four Chinese electronics companies, including a manufacturing giant that has a close relationship with China’s government, the social media company said on Tuesday. The agreements, which date to at least 2010, gave private access to user data to Huawei, a telecommunications equipment company that has been flagged by American intelligence officials as a national security threat, as well as to Lenovo, Oppo and TCL. The four partnerships remain in effect, but Facebook officials said in an interview that the company would wind down the Huawei deal by the end of the week. Facebook gave access to the Chinese device makers along with other manufacturers — including Amazon, Apple, BlackBerry and Samsung — whose agreements were disclosed by The New York Times on Sunday. The deals were part of an effort to push more mobile users onto the social network starting in 2007, before stand-alone Facebook apps worked well on phones.
The agreements allowed device makers to offer some Facebook features, such as address books, “like” buttons and status updates. Facebook officials said the agreements with the Chinese companies allowed them access similar to what was offered to BlackBerry, which could retrieve detailed information on both device users and all of their friends — including religious and political leanings, work and education history and relationship status. Huawei used its private access to feed a “social phone” app that let users view messages and social media accounts in one place, according to the officials. Facebook representatives said the data shared with Huawei stayed on its phones, not the company’s servers. Senator John Thune, the South Dakota Republican who leads the Commerce Committee, has demanded that Facebook provide Congress with details about its data partnerships.
“Facebook is learning hard lessons that meaningful transparency is a high standard to meet,” Mr. Thune said. His committee also oversees the Federal Trade Commission, which is investigating Facebook to determine whether the company’s data policies violate a 2011 consent decree with the commission. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia pointed out that concerns about Huawei were not new, citing a 2012 congressional report on the “close relationships between the Chinese Communist Party and equipment makers like Huawei.” “I look forward to learning more about how Facebook ensured that information about their users was not sent to Chinese servers,” said Mr. Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. “All Facebook’s integrations with Huawei, Lenovo, Oppo and TCL were controlled from the get-go — and Facebook approved everything that was built,” said Francisco Varela, a Facebook vice president.
“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.” Banned in China since 2009, Facebook in recent years has quietly sought to re-establish itself there. The company’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has tried to cultivate a relationship with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, and put in an appearance at one of the country’s top universities. Last year, Facebook released a photo-sharing app in China that was a near replica of its Moments app, but did not put its name on it.
And the company has worked on a tool that allowed targeted censorship, prompting some employees to quit over the project. Still, Facebook has struggled to gain momentum, and in January an executive in charge of courting China’s government left after spending three years on a charm campaign to get the social media service back in the country. None of the Chinese device makers who have partnerships with Facebook responded to requests for comment on Tuesday. Huawei, one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world, is a point of national pride for China and is at the vanguard of the country’s efforts to expand its influence abroad.
The company was the recipient of billions of dollars in lines of credit from China’s state-owned policy banks, helping to fuel its overseas expansion in Africa, Europe and Latin America.
Its founder, Ren Zhengfei, is a former engineer in the People’s Liberation Army. The United States government has long regarded the company with suspicion, and lawmakers have recommended that American carriers avoid buying the network gear it makes.
In January, AT&T walked away from a deal to sell a new Huawei smartphone, the Mate 10. United States officials are investigating whether Huawei broke American trade controls by dealing with Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria.
The Trump administration has taken aim at Huawei and its rival ZTE in recent weeks, and in April the Federal Communications Commission advanced a plan to bar federally subsidized telecom companies from using suppliers that are considered national security threats. Facebook has not entered into a data-sharing agreement with ZTE, officials at the social network said. TCL, a consumer electronics firm, has accused the Trump administration of bias against Chinese companies and last June dropped a bid to buy a San Diego-based company that makes routers and other hardware. Lenovo, a maker of computers and other devices, recently shelved ambitions to acquire BlackBerry after the Canadian government signaled that such a deal could compromise national security.
Facebook’s logo at an internet conference in Beijing in April. The social network has struck data-sharing partnerships with at least four companies in China.