UK concerned by allegations Cambridge Analytica mined Facebook users’ data
Theresa May’s spokesperson has said Britain is “very concerned” by allegations that Cambridge Analytica mined Facebook users’ data without their permission.
“The allegations are clearly very concerning. It is essential that people can have confidence that their personal data will be protected and used in an appropriate way,” the spokesman told reporters.
“So it is absolutely right that the Information Commissioner is investigating this matter. We expect Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and all the organisations involved to cooperate fully.”
Last Friday, Facebook suddenly announced on its website that it had suspended the account linked to Cambridge Analytica. Just prior to multiple media reports going live, the social network revealed it first learned about the vast data collection in 2015. The culprit app, it said, was designed by GSR chief and University of Cambridge professor Aleksandr Kogan.
Cambridge Analytica, partly owned by hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, worked on several high-profile operations including Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign.
The company uses social media metrics to profile citizens and serve them with personalised advertising. In the case in question, it obtained the analytical data via a personality test application.
Yesterday the chair of a parliamentary committee demanded that Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg “stop hiding behind his Facebook page” and come before MPs to respond to allegations of data misuse by the UK-headquartered political research outfit Cambridge Analytica.
Damian Collins, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee, hit out amid revelations that a company called Global Science Research (GSR), working alongside Cambridge Analytica, had harvested the personal details of 50m Facebook users in 2014.
“Data has been taken from Facebook users without their consent, and was then processed by a third party and used to support their campaigns,” he noted, adding: “I will be writing to Mark Zuckerberg asking that either he, or another senior executive from the company, appear to give evidence.”
Read more: Cambridge Analytica: Should Mark Zuckerberg be grilled before parliament?