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Report: Facebook Gave Device Makers Access to User Data

Apple and Samsung are among the beneficiaries.

Troubled social media giant Facebook gave device makers like Apple and Samsung “deep access” to user data, the New York Times reported on Sunday. The data-sharing partnerships—made with more than 60 businesses, including Amazon, BlackBerry and Microsoft—allowed device makers to obtain information on Facebook users such as relationship status, religion, and political leanings, even from those who had settings preventing sharing that information with third parties. Facebook has faced a public relationships reckoning after it was revealed that third-party applications and organizations—including foreign intelligence operatives—had access to Facebook user information.