Facebook has allowed electronics manufacturers including Apple, Amazon, and Samsung wide access to personal users’ data for years, the scope of which may be in violation of an FTC consent rule, according to a Sunday New York Times report.
The deals have reportedly given over 60 device makers access to users’ friends’ data without obtaining consent.
Per the New York Times, Facebook promised to cut down on these invasive collaborations after the backlash when the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke in March, but did not mention that they had exempted the electronics companies. These companies can reportedly obtain information about Facebook users’ friends, even when those friends have declined to allow Facebook to share data with third parties.
The 2011 FTC degree that Facebook may have broken prevents the social media giant from overriding users’ privacy settings without their consent.
