Episode 1040 • • 1:42:21 - 1:45:50
1040: Pardon Me
Facebook Data Harvesting via Smartphone Device Partnerships
An NPR investigation revealed that Facebook's partnerships with device manufacturers like BlackBerry allowed the social network to harvest data from users and their friends without explicit consent. By simply logging into a device, Facebook could access private messages, birthdays, and education histories for hundreds of thousands of people through a single account. Facebook defended the practice by claiming these manufacturers are "extensions" of the platform.