A U.S. senator on Thursday is seeking responses from Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Twitter Inc. on whether the U.S. companies have any data-sharing agreements with Chinese vendors, following a disclosure from Facebook Inc. this week.
Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat who is vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said in a statement he has written letters to the companies for information on data-sharing agreements, noting that since 2012 "the relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and equipment makers like Huawei and ZTE has been an area of national security concern."
Alphabet has said previously it has strategic partnerships with Chinese mobile device manufacturers, including Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., and Xiaomi, as well as with Chinese technology platform Tencent.