Facebook Suspends Cambridge Analytica Over Mishandled User Data
Facebook suspends political data firm Cambridge Analytica after learning a developer improperly shared user information with the third party. The company emphasizes that users consented to the data collection, denying claims of a system breach.
Facebook suspends Strategic Communication Laboratories and its subsidiary Cambridge Analytica from the platform over the mishandling of user data. The social network takes this step after discovering that a psychology professor named Aleksandr Kogan violates platform policies by passing Facebook Login data to the political analytics firm. Approximately 270,000 people download Kogan's personality prediction app and knowingly provide their information, making the incident a policy violation rather than a system hack.
The controversy centers on how Kogan shares the collected information with third parties, including Cambridge Analytica and Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies. While users consciously grant Kogan access to their profile details and some friend information through proper developer channels, he breaks the rules by transferring this data without authorization. Facebook insists that no systems suffer infiltration and no passwords or sensitive information suffer theft during this process.
Facebook first learns of this policy violation in 2015 and immediately removes the offending app from the platform. The company demands certifications from Kogan, Cambridge Analytica, and Wylie stating that all improperly shared data undergoes destruction. All parties involved provide these legally binding certifications to Facebook at that time, though recent events prompt the social media giant to officially ban the prominent political data firm.