Australia may summon Zuckerberg over Huawei data deal

An Australian intelligence committee said on Thursday that it was considering summoning Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg for a public hearing following revelations his company made a data-sharing deal with Huawei and other Chinese tech companies.

Labor MP Anthony Byrne, deputy chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS), said Zuckerberg owes an explanation to Australian Facebook users, reports Efe news.

"It is vital that Facebook explains its data sharing partnership with firms such as Huawei. We need to protect the data of over 15 million Facebook users in Australia," Byrne posted on his Facebook page on Thursday.

"If need be, Mr Zuckerberg will be invited to appear before the PJCIS in a public hearing to explain himself to our committee and the Australian people."

It was revealed on Wednesday that Facebook had admitted giving Huawei and three other Chinese companies - Lenovo, OPPO and TCL - specialised access to user data.

In recent years, US senators and national security officials have warned of the possibility of the Chinese government having access to Huawei servers.

--IANS

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