Facebook reveals apps, others that have special access to user data



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Facebook
Inc.


FB -0.97%

revealed that it has given dozens of companies special access to user data, detailing for the first time a series of transactions that contrasted with previous public statements of the social network. The transactions with application developers, device and software manufacturers, described in 747 pages of documents submitted to Congress on Friday, represent Facebook's most detailed explanation of the exemptions revealed by The Wall Street. Journalists and other media outlets

The revelations come as lawmakers asked Facebook to allow companies to access data on its billions of users without their knowledge, and wondered to what extent the business universe was expanding

. Friday's paper indicated that special offers were needed to give application developers time to comply with changes to their policies, and to activate the tware creators to create versions of the social network for their products.

The company revealed that she still shared information about users' friends, such as name, gender, birth date, city, or city. Application developers nearly six months after saying that he stopped access to this data in 2015.

Facebook said that he gave these 61 companies – which go from there. Hinge meeting application to United Parcel Service Inc. – a six-month extension to "bring itself into compliance" with the 2015 policy. In addition, five other companies "could have theoretically been able to access data from the United States." "limited friends" because of the access they had received as part of a Facebook experience, the company said in the document.

A Facebook spokesman declined to comment. , Vice president of Facebook's product partnerships, acknowledged the favorite deals in a previous interview with the Journal, but said they were with individual developers to test new features or when liquidating products. He said the company maintained a "consistent and reasoned approach to how we work with developers over the last 11 years."

The disclosure follows a June Wall Street Journal article reporting that Facebook had entered into custom data sharing agreements that gave select companies such as

Nissan Motor
Co.

access to user records for their applications well after the point in 2015, when he said that he has walled this information. Nissan is listed in the Friday document.

Facebook provided the document to the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee in response to hundreds of questions from the committee, which questioned Facebook's chief executive.

Mark Zuckerberg

during a testimony in April. The committee said on its website that it received responses shortly before midnight Friday; the deadline for responses was the closing of the offices on Friday.

This is Facebook's second attempt to answer congressional questions. In June, Facebook delivered 450 pages of answers to two Senate committees, dismissing some questions about its influence and market power while providing details on the information it collects about users.

Facebook has been monitored since March. Cambridge analytica analysis company, which helped the president

Donald Trump

In the ensuing hearings, lawmakers asked Mr. Zuckerberg if Facebook was in violation of a regulation that the company made in 2012 with the Federal Trade Commission, under which the company is required to give its users clear and visible notice and obtain their express consent before sharing their information beyond their privacy settings. Facebook said in the document that it did not violate the FTC Act.

Facebook has indicated that it has struggled to completely rebuild what has happened to the information of its users. "It's possible we have not been able to identify some extensions," said Facebook about companies that had access to user friend information after the 2015 deadline.

Many application developers have collected unusual data. bankruptcy, according to developers and former employees of Facebook. In some cases, Facebook claims that developers contacted by Facebook do not respond to requests for additional information.

The social network also indicated in Friday's document that it was sharing information about its users with 52 hardware and software manufacturers, including major US companies. such as

Amazon.com
Inc.,

Apple
Inc.

and

Microsoft
Corp.

, as well as some Chinese companies such as Huawei Technologies Co. and

Alibaba Group Holding
Ltd.

Fourteen companies continue to have access to information about Facebook users.

Facebook announced that it was offering this access to these device and software manufacturers to enable them to create Facebook versions for their devices. , allow users to sync Facebook contacts and photos on their devices and send notifications to users via Facebook.

"These integrations were built by our partners, for our users, but approved by Facebook".

Facebook cut this access to data with 38 of the companies in the list; seven companies will continue to have this access until July, and three companies, including Apple, Amazon and the Tobii accessibility app, have entered into agreements with Facebook to continue accessing these data beyond October.

Write to Georgia Wells at [email protected]

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