SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook on Tuesday confirmed that a Chinese phone maker deemed a national security threat by the US was among companies given access to data on users.
Huawei was able to access Facebook data to get the leading social network’s applications to perform on smartphones, according to the California-based company.
“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 released 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.
“Facebook’s integrations with Huawei, Lenovo, OPPO and TCL were controlled from the get go,” Varela said.
Huawei has long disputed any links to the Chinese government, while noting that its infrastructure and computing products are used in 170 countries.
“Concerns about Huawei aren’t new,” US Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the senate select committee on intelligence, said Tuesday in a released statement.
“I look forward to learning more about how Facebook ensured that information about their users was not sent to Chinese servers.”
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 said it 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.
Facebook enabled device makers to interface with it at a time when it was building its service and they were developing new smartphone and social media technology.
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: Chinese phone makers got access to data on users
Facebook: Chinese phone makers got access to data on users
Closing Bell: Saudi benchmark index closes lower at 10,540
RIYADH: Saudi equities ended Wednesday’s session lower, with the Tadawul All Share Index falling 55.13 points, or 0.52 percent, to close at 10,540.72.
The sell-off was mirrored across other indices, with the MSCI Tadawul 30 Index retreating 5.79 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 1,393.32, while the parallel market Nomu slipped 74.56 points, or 0.32 percent, to 23,193.21.
Market breadth remained firmly negative, as decliners outpaced advancers, with 207 stocks ending the session lower against just 51 gainers on the main market.
Trading activity moderated compared to recent sessions, with volumes reaching 123.5 million shares, while total traded value stood at SR2.72 billion ($725.2 million).
On the sectoral and stock level, Al Moammar Information Systems Co. led the gainers after surging 9.96 percent to close at SR172.30, extending its rally following a series of contract announcements tied to data center and IT infrastructure projects.
Al Masar Al Shamil Education Co. climbed 4.89 percent to SR27.48, while Naqi Water Co. advanced 3.36 percent to SR58.50. Al Yamamah Steel Industries Co. and Al-Jouf Agricultural Development Co. also posted solid gains, rising 3 percent and 2.86 percent, respectively.
Losses, however, were concentrated in industrial names. Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. fell 3.67 percent to SR4.73, while Makkah Construction and Development Co. slid 3.44 percent to SR80.
Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Co. retreated 3.28 percent to SR147.50, weighed down by broader market weakness, and Saudi Cable Co. declined 3.18 percent to SR143.
Alkhaleej Training and Education Co. rounded out the top losers, shedding just over 3 percent.
On the announcement front, BinDawood Holding announced the signing of a share purchase agreement to acquire 51 percent of Wonder Bakery LLC in the UAE for 96.9 million dirhams, marking a strategic expansion of its food manufacturing footprint beyond Saudi Arabia.
The acquisition, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to support the group’s regional growth ambitions and strengthen supply chain integration.
BinDawood shares closed at SR4.68, up 0.43 percent, reflecting a positive market reaction to the overseas expansion move.
Meanwhile, Al Moammar Information Systems disclosed the contract sign-off for the renewal of IT systems support licenses with the Saudi Central Bank, valued at SR114.4 million, inclusive of VAT.
The 36-month contract is expected to have a positive financial impact starting from fourth quarter of 2025, reinforcing MIS’s position as a key technology partner for critical government institutions. The stock surged to the session’s limit making it the top gainer.
In a separate disclosure, Maharah Human Resources confirmed the completion of the sale of its entire stake in Care Shield Holding Co. through its subsidiary, Growth Avenue Investments, for a total consideration of SR434.3 million.
The transaction involved the transfer of 41.36 percent of Care Shield’s share capital to Dallah Healthcare, with Maharah receiving the full cash proceeds.
Despite the strategic divestment, Maharah shares closed lower, ending the session at SR6.12, down 1.29 percent.
