What’s keeping you from importing Facebook friends into Apple’s Ping social network

Facebook friend importing was a key feature of Apple’s new Ping social network, until discussions between the companies fell through, Facebook blocked Ping’s access to its data, and Apple removed the feature from Ping entirely — according to All Things Digital’s Kara Swisher.

When Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed off Ping at its media event yesterday, Facebook integration was clearly visible in his presentation. But when users finally got their hands on iTunes 10 and set up their Ping accounts, many were confused as to why they couldn’t import Facebook friends — instead, they were stuck with prehistoric options like searching for friends on the service, or inviting them via email.

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A lucky few were able to use the Facebook friend import before Apple removed it, and a Facebook app for Ping, which handled the import duty, is still available.

Yesterday, Jobs told Swisher that “onerous terms” from Facebook led Apple to abandon the feature. But it turns out the full story is even juicier: Apparently Apple did implement the feature after its negotiations fell through, which led to Facebook blocking the company from using its APIs (application programming interfaces) to get access to user data.

Normally, Facebook’s APIs are open and available to use. But in the case of services like Ping that would lead to heavy usage, Facebook requires an agreement.

Once Apple and Facebook come to an agreement, we can expect the feature to be re-enabled. Having access to Facebook is key for any budding service with a social spin, and even Apple will eventually have to come to terms with that.