Facebook has suspended Cambridge Analytica, the data firm used by the Trump campaign during the 2016 election, citing policy violations.
Facebook Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Paul Grewal wrote in a post Friday night that the decision was made after reports that the firm did not fully delete data given to them by a University of Cambridge professor in violation of Facebook policies.
Grewal said Dr. Aleksandr Kogan had passed data from his app, which used Facebook Login, to Strategic Communication Laboratories, which houses Cambridge Analytica.
Those using his app allowed Kogan to access information like the city they were living in and pages or content they liked.
“Although Kogan gained access to this information in a legitimate way and through the proper channels that governed all developers on Facebook at that time, he did not subsequently abide by our rules. By passing information on to a third party, including SCL/Cambridge Analytica and Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies, he violated our platform policies,” the statement read.
Grewal said that after discovering the violation in 2015, Facebook demanded that Cambridge Analytica certify that they had destroyed the data they received, and that the company had done so.
“Several days ago, we received reports that, contrary to the certifications we were given, not all data was deleted. We are moving aggressively to determine the accuracy of these claims,” the statement read.
“If true, this is another unacceptable violation of trust and the commitments they made. We are suspending SCL/Cambridge Analytica, Wylie and Kogan from Facebook, pending further information.”
Grewal said that Facebook is “committed to vigorously enforcing our policies to protect people’s information.”
“We will take whatever steps are required to see that this happens. We will take legal action if necessary to hold them responsible and accountable for any unlawful behavior,” he continued.
The data firm has come under scrutiny in the probe into Russian election interference.
Special counsel Robert Mueller Robert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE reportedly requested all emails from employees at the firm who worked with the Trump campaign, and Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix also reportedly interviewed with the House Intelligence Committee.
HoldMyWater on March 17th, 2018 at 07:04 UTC »
Such a shady company. They also targeted the UK to promote Brexit. But what can you expect from a Rick Mercer company.
r/MercerInfo
shreddedkittentacos on March 17th, 2018 at 06:57 UTC »
Because of family members who only communicate through Facebook, I spend time on there everyday. It's frightening how naive and susceptible to false information people can be. I often have to debunk articles posted by friends and family. Critical thinking should be a mandatory class for all children.
Laurent_K on March 17th, 2018 at 04:03 UTC »
Facebook's business model is to make money with people profile. When they proudly state that they are “committed to vigorously enforcing [their] policies to protect people’s information.”, they are in fact protecting their business model, not people's privacy.