Cambridge Analytica

Cambridge Analytica was a political consulting firm at the center of a scandal involving the use of Facebook data to influence the 2016 United States presidential election. The company was founded by Robert Mercer, a billionaire and Donald Trump supporter, and Steve Bannon, a former advisor to Donald Trump. Alexander Nix, a British businessman, served as the company's chief executive officer. The firm was also linked to Breitbart News, a conservative news website founded by Andrew Breitbart.

Background

The company was established in 2013 as a subsidiary of SCL Group, a British firm that specialized in psychological warfare and disinformation campaigns. Cambridge Analytica's early work involved providing data analysis and microtargeting services to Republican candidates, including Ted Cruz and Ben Carson. The company's staff included Christopher Wylie, a Canadian data scientist who later became a whistleblower, and Michal Kosinski, a Stanford University researcher who developed a method for predicting personality traits based on Facebook likes. The company also worked with Palantir Technologies, a data analytics firm founded by Peter Thiel, to develop its data analysis capabilities.

Services and Methods

The company's services included data analysis, microtargeting, and psychographic profiling, which involved using Facebook data to create detailed profiles of voters and tailor political advertising to their interests and personality traits. The company used a technique called psychographic profiling, which was developed by Michal Kosinski and David Stillwell, two researchers at University of Cambridge. The company also worked with Acxiom, a data brokerage firm, to collect and analyze data on voters. The company's methods were influenced by the work of Joseph Goebbels, a Nazi Party propagandist, and Edward Bernays, a pioneer of public relations.

Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal

In 2018, it was revealed that the company had harvested data from millions of Facebook users without their consent, using a third-party app developed by Aleksandr Kogan, a researcher at University of Cambridge. The data was used to create psychographic profiles of voters and influence the 2016 United States presidential election. The scandal led to widespread criticism of Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, who was called to testify before the United States Congress. The scandal also led to the resignation of Alexander Nix and the suspension of the company's chief executive officer. The company's actions were also investigated by the Federal Trade Commission and the United Kingdom Information Commissioner's Office.

Shutdown and Aftermath

In May 2018, the company announced that it would be shutting down and filing for bankruptcy. The company's assets were sold to Emerdata Limited, a company founded by Robert Mercer and his daughters, Rebekah Mercer and Jennifer Mercer. The company's former staff, including Alexander Nix and Julian Wheatland, went on to form a new company called Auven Therapeutics. The shutdown was seen as a victory for privacy advocates, including Max Schrems, an Austrian lawyer who had filed a complaint against Facebook with the Irish Data Protection Commissioner.

Investigations and Criticisms

The company's actions were investigated by several government agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United Kingdom Parliament. The company was also criticized by several non-governmental organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union. The company's use of psychographic profiling and microtargeting was also criticized by several experts, including Shoshana Zuboff, a professor at Harvard University, and Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web. The company's actions were also the subject of several books, including "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" by Shoshana Zuboff and "Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe" by Roger McNamee. The company's legacy continues to be felt, with several tech companies, including Google and Amazon, facing criticism for their use of personal data. Category:Defunct companies