Bill Nelson: “it is interesting that the majority whip just spoke about China, and this Senator wants to talk about Facebook and some…”

“it is interesting that the majority whip just spoke about China, and this Senator wants to talk about Facebook and some of the things that are threatening national security and our personal privacy. I rise to speak about the recent press reports on Facebook and how the social media giant partnered with at least 60 mobile device manufacturers and shared user information with the likes of Apple, Amazon, BlackBerry, Microsoft, and Samsung. Just today, on the subject of China, the New York Times is reporting that Facebook also partnered with four Chinese electronic manufacturers, including Huawei, which is known to have close ties with the Chinese Government and may pose a national security threat to the United States. According to the Times, these companies had access to vast amounts of Facebook's user data, including the information of friends who may not have provided proper consent to access and share their personal and their personally identifiable information. We don't know all of the facts yet, but it is clear that what Facebook claims and what the New York Times is reporting doesn't end up squaring up. As a result, the chairman of the Commerce Committee, Senator Thune, and I as ranking member wrote a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, asking that he answer a number of questions about the New York Times' reporting. Specifically, Senator Thune and I want to know exactly who these business partners are and what the nature of these agreements is.…”