Germany's intelligence agency has accused the Chinese government of spying through the use of LinkedIn Corp., Facebook Inc., and other social media platforms, an allegation that China has denied, The New York Times reported Dec. 11.
According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Chinese agents, posing as leaders of think tanks and headhunters, targeted over 10,000 German citizens, including lawmakers and government officials. The targets were reportedly offered perks including all-expenses-paid trips to China, introductions to "important clients," and compensation for work on a project to win their trust.
The German targets were also offered money in exchange for sensitive information, according to the report.
The German intelligence agency's president, Hans-Georg Maassen, described the scheme as "a broad attempt to infiltrate Parliaments, ministries and administrations."
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has called the spying accusations "complete hearsay and groundless" and urged German officials to "speak and act more responsibly."
LinkedIn is conducting its own probe into the matter and said it will deactivate the accounts flagged by the Germans as spies.
