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Federal prosecutors and the US District Attorney's Office in New York are investigating Facebook for entering into partnerships with media companies that have given them access to their users' data. The New York Times was the first to report the probe.
In a statement, Facebook told BuzzFeed News: "It has already been reported that federal investigations are ongoing, including by the Department of Justice. As we said before, we cooperate with investigators and take these investigations seriously. We provided public testimony, answered questions and made the commitment to continue to do so. "
Two unnamed sources described as "knowing the demands" told the Times that records from at least two unspecified smartphone companies have been summoned by a New York grand jury. Hardware manufacturers entered into agreements with Facebook that allowed them to view Facebook user data, including friend lists and contact information, sometimes without the consent of those users.
New York East District spokesman Tyler Daniels said the office "can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation".
In July, Facebook submitted to Congress 747 pages of documents in which the company had authorized 52 device manufacturers, including Blackberry, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung, to create Facebook features or Facebook app versions. for their products. In the documents, Facebook said it had stopped 38 of these partnerships.
Facebook had a difficult Wednesday. The news of the criminal investigation follows failures that affect all applications of the social media giant, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.
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