A bomb threat prompted authorities on Tuesday to evacuate a building at the Silicon Valley headquarters of Facebook, police said, but gave the "all clear" after an hours-long search turned up no sign of a device.

"The San Mateo County bomb unit was dispatched with explosive detection dogs that conducted a sweep of the building and found no suspicious packages or devices," they said.

"The building is all clear and secure," the police added.

Everyone is safe and the company is looking into the incident, the spokesman said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Menlo Park Police Department said a building at 200 Jefferson Drive has been evacuated and the bomb units are on the scene going through the building.

However, it did not specify which Facebook building in Menlo Park was evacuated.

YouTube was another Silicon Valley company that faced security threat in the recent past. In May, a woman opened fire at YouTube's headquarters in San Francisco, wounding three people before she shot herself dead.

A bomb threat prompted authorities on Tuesday to evacuate a building at the Silicon Valley headquarters of Facebook, police said, but gave the "all clear" after an hours-long search turned up no sign of a device.

A bomb threat prompted authorities on Tuesday to evacuate a building at the Silicon Valley headquarters of Facebook, police said, but gave the "all clear" after an hours-long search turned up no sign of a device. "The San Mateo County bomb unit was dispatched with explosive detection dogs that conducted a sweep of the building and found no suspicious packages or devices," they said. "The building is all clear and secure," the police added. Everyone is safe and the company is looking into the incident, the spokesman said in an emailed statement to Reuters. Menlo Park Police Department said a building at 200 Jefferson Drive has been evacuated and the bomb units are on the scene going through the building. However, it did not specify which Facebook building in Menlo Park was evacuated. YouTube was another Silicon Valley company that faced security threat in the recent past. In May, a woman opened fire at YouTube's headquarters in San Francisco, wounding three people before she shot herself dead.

No suspicious package found in Facebook HQ at Menlo Park: Police

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg pushed back Wednesday against emails showing the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-accused-of-giving-access-to-users-data-181753">social media giant offering Netflix and other popular apps </a>preferential access to people's data even after it had tightened its privacy rules.

A British parliamentary committee investigating whether the social media behemoth was being used to manipulate the results of elections published 250 pages of internal Facebook documents earlier Wednesday.

They show executives holding discussions about big companies such as Netflix being granted preferential access to user data even after Facebook had tightened its privacy rules in 2014-15.

Zuckerberg featured in one email exchange from 2012 in which he mulled selling the information to developers.

The emails feature in a lawsuit filed against Facebook in a California court by the now-defunct US app developer Six4Three.

They were sealed by the presiding judge but seized by the British committee under a never-before used parliamentary enforcement procedure last month.

Zuckerberg said he was writing because he did not want the emails to "misrepresent our actions or motives".

"Like any organization, we had a lot of internal discussion and people raised different ideas," Zuckerberg said in a message posted on Facebook.

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He did not directly address Facebook's apparent decision to give some of the world's most popular apps special access to friends lists and other personal information that many people want to keep private.

"Ultimately, we decided on a model where we continued to provide the developer platform for free and developers could choose to buy ads if they wanted," Zuckerberg wrote.

But he added: "To be clear, that's different from selling people's data. We've never sold anyone's data."

'Public interest'

The UK parliamentary committee headed by Damian Collins -- a member of Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party -- calls the policy of giving apps privileged information about users "whitelisting".

"Facebook have clearly entered into whitelisting agreements with certain companies, which meant that after the platform changes in 2014/15 they maintained full access to friends data," Collins wrote in a note accompanying the emails.

"The idea of linking access to friends data to the financial value of the developers relationship with Facebook is a recurring feature of the documents."

The emails show Facebook holding "whitelisting" discussions with the Russian-founded dating service Wadoo and US giants such as Netflix and the cab hailing service Lyft.

Most of the emails released by Collins were from years before Facebook had tightened its privacy policy rules.

Collins said his decision to ignore the US court gagging order and release the exchanges was based on "considerable public interest" in their content.

"We need a more public debate about the rights of social media users and the smaller businesses who are required to work with the tech giants," he wrote in a Twitter post.

Zuckerberg did not condemn the emails' publication or threaten any reciprocal measures against Collins.

"I understand there is a lot of scrutiny on how we run our systems," Zuckerberg wrote.

"That's healthy given the vast number of people who use our services around the world."

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg pushed back Wednesday against emails showing the social media giant offering Netflix and other popular apps preferential access to people's data even after it had tightened its privacy rules.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg pushed back Wednesday against emails showing the social media giant offering Netflix and other popular apps preferential access to people's data even after it had tightened its privacy rules. A British parliamentary committee investigating whether the social media behemoth was being used to manipulate the results of elections published 250 pages of internal Facebook documents earlier Wednesday. They show executives holding discussions about big companies such as Netflix being granted preferential access to user data even after Facebook had tightened its privacy rules in 2014-15. Zuckerberg featured in one email exchange from 2012 in which he mulled selling the information to developers. The emails feature in a lawsuit filed against Facebook in a California court by the now-defunct US app developer Six4Three. They were sealed by the presiding judge but seized by the British committee under a never-before used parliamentary enforcement procedure last month. Zuckerberg said he was writing because he did not want the emails to "misrepresent our actions or motives". "Like any organization, we had a lot of internal discussion and people raised different ideas," Zuckerberg said in a message posted on Facebook. × He did not directly address Facebook's apparent decision to give some of the world's most popular apps special access to friends lists and other personal information that many people want to keep private. "Ultimately, we decided on a model where we continued to provide the developer platform for free and developers could choose to buy ads if they wanted," Zuckerberg wrote. But he added: "To be clear, that's different from selling people's data. We've never sold anyone's data." 'Public interest' The UK parliamentary committee headed by Damian Collins -- a member of Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party -- calls the policy of giving apps privileged information about users "whitelisting". "Facebook have clearly entered into whitelisting agreements with certain companies, which meant that after the platform changes in 2014/15 they maintained full access to friends data," Collins wrote in a note accompanying the emails. "The idea of linking access to friends data to the financial value of the developers relationship with Facebook is a recurring feature of the documents." The emails show Facebook holding "whitelisting" discussions with the Russian-founded dating service Wadoo and US giants such as Netflix and the cab hailing service Lyft. Most of the emails released by Collins were from years before Facebook had tightened its privacy policy rules. Collins said his decision to ignore the US court gagging order and release the exchanges was based on "considerable public interest" in their content. "We need a more public debate about the rights of social media users and the smaller businesses who are required to work with the tech giants," he wrote in a Twitter post. Zuckerberg did not condemn the emails' publication or threaten any reciprocal measures against Collins. "I understand there is a lot of scrutiny on how we run our systems," Zuckerberg wrote. "That's healthy given the vast number of people who use our services around the world."

We never sold anyone's data: Zuckerberg defends Facebook

Social media giant Facebook, who is already under scrutiny for data breach scandal, admitted on Thursday that it uses the phone numbers provided by users for two-factor authentication&nbsp;to target ads.

Facebook's acknowledgement came after a study by two US universities, first reported by news website Gizmodo, found that phone numbers given to Facebook for two-factor authentication were also used to target advertising.

"We use the information people provide to offer a better, more personalised experience on Facebook, including ads," a Facebook spokesperson has been quoted as saying by news agency AFP.

"We are clear about how we use the information we collect, including the contact information that people upload or add to their own accounts. you can manage and delete contact information you've uploaded at any time."

Two-factor authentication is intended to enhance security by requiring a second step, such as entering codes sent via text messages, as well as passwords to get into accounts.

According to the study, phone numbers added to profiles, for security purposes, or for messaging were potential fodder for advertisers.

Contact lists uploaded to Facebook platforms is also mined for personal information, meaning that people could unintentionally help advertisers target their friends.

"Most worrisome, we found that phone numbers uploaded as part of syncing contacts -- that were never owned by a user and never listed on their account - were in fact used to enable PII-based advertising," &nbsp;researchers said in the study.

Facebook is grappling with the worst crisis in its history, vilified for not more zealously guarding the information that users share.

The Silicon Valley-based internet colossus faced intense global scrutiny over the mass harvesting of personal data by Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy that worked for Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign.

The company has admitted up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked in the scandal.

(With inputs from news agencies)

Social media giant Facebook, who is already under scrutiny for data breach scandal, admitted on Thursday that it uses the phone numbers provided by users for two-factor authentication to target ads.

Social media giant Facebook, who is already under scrutiny for data breach scandal, admitted on Thursday that it uses the phone numbers provided by users for two-factor authentication to target ads. Facebook's acknowledgement came after a study by two US universities, first reported by news website Gizmodo, found that phone numbers given to Facebook for two-factor authentication were also used to target advertising. "We use the information people provide to offer a better, more personalised experience on Facebook, including ads," a Facebook spokesperson has been quoted as saying by news agency AFP. "We are clear about how we use the information we collect, including the contact information that people upload or add to their own accounts. you can manage and delete contact information you've uploaded at any time." Two-factor authentication is intended to enhance security by requiring a second step, such as entering codes sent via text messages, as well as passwords to get into accounts. According to the study, phone numbers added to profiles, for security purposes, or for messaging were potential fodder for advertisers. Contact lists uploaded to Facebook platforms is also mined for personal information, meaning that people could unintentionally help advertisers target their friends. "Most worrisome, we found that phone numbers uploaded as part of syncing contacts -- that were never owned by a user and never listed on their account - were in fact used to enable PII-based advertising," researchers said in the study. Facebook is grappling with the worst crisis in its history, vilified for not more zealously guarding the information that users share. The Silicon Valley-based internet colossus faced intense global scrutiny over the mass harvesting of personal data by Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy that worked for Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign. The company has admitted up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked in the scandal. (With inputs from news agencies)

Facebook admits phone numbers may be used to target ads

&nbsp;Mark &nbsp;Zuckerberg-led&nbsp;Facebook <a href="http://wionews.com/videos/apple-blocks-facebook-web-tracking-tools--142468">which was hit by a data breach </a>scandal recently, said today that Chinese phone makers were&nbsp;given access to data on users.

"Facebook along with many other <a href="http://wionews.com/world/facebook-shared-user-data-with-over-60-device-makers-including-apple-samsung-report-142133">US tech companies have worked</a> with them and other Chinese manufacturers to integrate their services onto these phones," Facebook mobile partnerships leader Francisco Varela said in a statement.

The social network said it would end the agreement with Huawei later this week including three other partnerships with Chinese firms. Members of Congress had raised concern over data of users' friends could have been accessed without their explicit consent. Facebook denied it would happen.

"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," it said.

US intelligence officials have maintained that Chinese phones allow foreign espionage and therefore are a threat to national security. The Pentagon had earlier ordered retail outlets on US military bases to stop selling Huawei and ZTE phones, citing potential security risks.

Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee in a statement said House of Representatives Intelligence Committee had raised concerns about Huawei dating back in 2012.

"The news that Facebook provided privileged access to Facebook's API to Chinese device makers like Huawei and TCL raises legitimate concerns, and I look forward to learning more about how Facebook ensured that information about their users was not sent to Chinese servers," Warner said.

Facebook had earlier revealed 87 million users' account was hacked after a UK-based firm Cambridge Analytica was accused of harvesting Facebook data.

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said the "data-sharing partnerships with other corporations" is part of the ongoing investigation into the reported misuse of Facebook user data by Cambridge Analytica.

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Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee in a statement said House of Representatives Intelligence Committee had raised concerns

Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook which was hit by a data breach scandal recently, said today that Chinese phone makers were given access to data on users. "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 statement. The social network said it would end the agreement with Huawei later this week including three other partnerships with Chinese firms. Members of Congress had raised concern over data of users' friends could have been accessed without their explicit consent. Facebook denied it would happen. "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," it said. US intelligence officials have maintained that Chinese phones allow foreign espionage and therefore are a threat to national security. The Pentagon had earlier ordered retail outlets on US military bases to stop selling Huawei and ZTE phones, citing potential security risks. Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee in a statement said House of Representatives Intelligence Committee had raised concerns about Huawei dating back in 2012. "The news that Facebook provided privileged access to Facebook's API to Chinese device makers like Huawei and TCL raises legitimate concerns, and I look forward to learning more about how Facebook ensured that information about their users was not sent to Chinese servers," Warner said. Facebook had earlier revealed 87 million users' account was hacked after a UK-based firm Cambridge Analytica was accused of harvesting Facebook data. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said the "data-sharing partnerships with other corporations" is part of the ongoing investigation into the reported misuse of Facebook user data by Cambridge Analytica.

Huawei stores our information on phone, not on servers: Facebook