Huawei Among Firms Who Got Facebook Data Access

Facebook has confirmed that Chinese phone maker Huawei was among companies given access to data on users.

It was able to access Facebook data to get the leading social network's applications to perform on smartphones, according to the California-based company. Huawei is deemed a national security threat by the US authorities.

"Facebook along with many other US tech companies have worked with them and other Chinese manufacturers to integrate their services onto these phones," Facebook mobile partnerships leader Francisco Varela said in a statement.

"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."

Facebook also had data access deals with Lenovo, Oppo and TCL of China, according to Varela. But he said these integrations were "controlled from the get go".

Huawei has long disputed any links to the Chinese government, while noting that its infrastructure and computing products are used in 170 countries.

Facebook said that it does not know of any privacy abuse by cellphone makers who years ago were able to gain access to personal data on users and their friends.

Before now-ubiquitous apps standardized the social media experience on smartphones, some 60 device makers like Amazon, Apple, Blackberry, HTC, Microsoft and Samsung worked with Facebook to adapt interfaces for the Facebook website to their own phones, the company said.

Facebook is winding up the interface arrangements with device makers as the company's smartphone apps dominate the service. The integration partnership with Huawei will terminate by the end of this week, according to the social network.

The social media leader said it "disagreed" with the conclusions of a New York Times report that found that the device makers could access information on Facebook users' friends without their explicit consent.

But the report raised concerns that massive databases on users and their friends – including personal data and photographs – could be in the hands of device makers. Facebook is banned on the mainland.

Facebook came under attack early this year over British political consultant Cambridge Analytica's harvesting of personal data on 87 million Facebook users and their friends. (AFP)