Facebook scandal alarms China eyeing next frontier in AI battle

In this photo illustration, a man holds an iPad with a Facebook application in an office building at the Pudong financial district in Shanghai, September 25, 2013. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Files

The scandal over the alleged abuse of Facebook Inc’s user data is unfolding a long way from China, and yet privacy regulators in Beijing have been watching intently. 

Their interest shows how all three big players in the technology world – the Americans, Chinese and Europeans – are feeling their way to balance the demands of consumers for privacy and of governments for security.