<https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/mar/13/facebook-data-sharing-inv...> [..] The criminal investigation adds to a laundry list of probes since the Cambridge Analytica revelations one year ago placed a spotlight on the company’s data and privacy practices. Investigations by the Federal Trade Commission, the justice department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have all been previously reported. Facebook was also sued by Washington DC in late December for allowing Cambridge Analytica to obtain personal data of users without permission. The data sharing deals were reported by the New York Times in June and December of last year. Facebook gave companies including Netflix, Spotify, Microsoft, Sony and Amazon the ability to access user data long after it had stopped sharing data with most third-parties, the Times revealed. At the time, the company strongly disputed that these data partnerships violated users’ privacy or the company’s 2012 settlement with the FTC.