The Cambridge Analytica Scandal: Difference between revisions
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''The Cambridge Analytica Scandal'' involved the unauthorized harvesting of personal data from millions of Facebook users, which was then used for psychographic profiling and targeted political advertising. | ''The Cambridge Analytica Scandal'' involved the unauthorized harvesting of personal data from millions of Facebook users, which was then used for psychographic profiling and targeted political advertising. | ||
== Background == | ==Background== | ||
:The scandal involved Facebook, Global Science Research (GSR), and Cambridge Analytica (Analytica). It exposed vulnerabilities in social media platforms, the misuse of personal data for political gain, and the lack of regulatory safeguards. | :The scandal involved Facebook, Global Science Research (GSR), and Cambridge Analytica (Analytica). It exposed vulnerabilities in social media platforms, the misuse of personal data for political gain, and the lack of regulatory safeguards. | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto" | {| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto" | ||
|+ Key Individuals and Companies Invovled | |+Key Individuals and Companies Invovled | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Name !! Role | !Name!!Role | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Aleksandr Kogan || Developed the data-harvesting app and violated Facebook’s terms by sharing data with Analytica. || | |Aleksandr Kogan||Developed the data-harvesting app and violated Facebook’s terms by sharing data with Analytica.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Meredith |first=Sam |date=10 Apr 2018 |title=Facebook-Cambridge Analytica: A timeline of the data hijacking scandal |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/10/facebook-cambridge-analytica-a-timeline-of-the-data-hijacking-scandal.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 Jun 2025 |website=CNBC}}</ref> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Cambridge Analytica || Used illicitly obtained data for political micro-targeting in U.S. campaign and accused of the same in the UK campaign. || | |Cambridge Analytica||Used illicitly obtained data for political micro-targeting in U.S. campaign and accused of the same in the UK campaign.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Rosalie |date=5 Oct 2019 |title=The Cambridge Analytica whistleblower explains how the firm used Facebook data to sway elections |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/cambridge-analytica-whistleblower-christopher-wylie-facebook-data-2019-10 |url-status=live |access-date=25 Jun 2025 |website=Business Insider}}</ref> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Facebook (Meta) || Failed to protect user data and allowed third-party apps excessive access via APIs. || | |Facebook (Meta)||Failed to protect user data and allowed third-party apps excessive access via APIs.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Meredith |first=Sam |date=21 Mar 2018 |title=Here’s everything you need to know about the Cambridge Analytica scandal |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/21/facebook-cambridge-analytica-scandal-everything-you-need-to-know.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 Jun 2025 |website=CNBC}}</ref> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Christopher Wylie || Whistleblower who exposed the misuse of data by Analytica. | |Christopher Wylie||Whistleblower who exposed the misuse of data by Analytica.<ref name=":2" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Alexander Nix || Was suspended after boasting of unethical tactics in undercover footage. | |Alexander Nix||Was suspended after boasting of unethical tactics in undercover footage.<ref name=":3" /> | ||
|} | |} | ||
== Data Theft == | ==Data Theft== | ||
=== Harvesting === | ===Harvesting=== | ||
:In 2013 Aleksandr Kogan, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, developed a Facebook app called "This Is Your Digital Life" under his company, GSR. The app was presented as a personality quiz and paid users to take psychological surveys. It collected their Facebook data including their friends' information due to Facebook’s permissive API policies at the time. Approximately 270,000 users directly took the quiz , accessing an estimated 87 million profiles because of Facebook’s Open Graph platform.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 30, 2020 |title=Facebook data privacy scandal: A cheat sheet |url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/facebook-data-privacy-scandal-a-cheat-sheet/ |work=TechRepublic}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Cadwalladr |first=Carole |last2=Graham-Harrison |first2=Emma |date=March 17, 2018 |title=Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in major data breach |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-election |work=The Guardian}}</ref> The collected data included likes, location, birth dates, friend networks, and some users' private messages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cambridge Analytica |url=https://dig.watch/trends/cambridge-analytica |website=dig.watch}}</ref> | :In 2013 Aleksandr Kogan, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, developed a Facebook app called "This Is Your Digital Life" under his company, GSR.<ref name=":2" /> The app was presented as a personality quiz and paid users to take psychological surveys. It collected their Facebook data including their friends' information due to Facebook’s permissive API policies at the time. Approximately 270,000 users directly took the quiz , accessing an estimated 87 million profiles because of Facebook’s Open Graph platform.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 30, 2020 |title=Facebook data privacy scandal: A cheat sheet |url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/facebook-data-privacy-scandal-a-cheat-sheet/ |url-status=live |access-date=25 Jun 2025 |work=TechRepublic}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Cadwalladr |first=Carole |last2=Graham-Harrison |first2=Emma |date=March 17, 2018 |title=Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in major data breach |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-election |url-status=live |access-date=25 Jun 2025 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> The collected data included likes, location, birth dates, friend networks, and some users' private messages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cambridge Analytica |url=https://dig.watch/trends/cambridge-analytica |url-status=live |access-date=25 Jun 2025 |website=dig.watch}}</ref> | ||
=== Transferred to Cambridge Analytica === | ===Transferred to Cambridge Analytica=== | ||
:Kogan violated Facebook’s terms by sharing the data with Analytica, a political consulting firm co-founded by Republican donor [[wikipedia:Robert_Mercer|Robert Mercer]] and led by CEO [[wikipedia:Alexander_Nix|Alexander Nix]]. To predict and influence voter behavior Analytica used the data to build psychographic profiles based on the OCEAN (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism) model<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Fernando |first=Jason |date=January 28, 2025 |title=Cambridge Analytica: Overview, History, and Examples |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cambridge-analytica.asp |website=investopedia}}</ref> | :Kogan violated Facebook’s terms by sharing the data with Analytica, a political consulting firm co-founded by Republican donor [[wikipedia:Robert_Mercer|Robert Mercer]] and led by CEO [[wikipedia:Alexander_Nix|Alexander Nix]]. To predict and influence voter behavior Analytica used the data to build psychographic profiles based on the OCEAN (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism) model<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Fernando |first=Jason |date=January 28, 2025 |title=Cambridge Analytica: Overview, History, and Examples |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cambridge-analytica.asp |url-status=live |access-date=25 Jun 2025 |website=investopedia}}</ref> | ||
Political Applications: | Political Applications: | ||
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*Brexit Referendum (2016): Analytica was linked to the pro-Brexit group, Leave EU, though investigations later found no direct evidence of significant involvement. | *Brexit Referendum (2016): Analytica was linked to the pro-Brexit group, Leave EU, though investigations later found no direct evidence of significant involvement. | ||
=== Whistleblower Revelations === | ===Whistleblower Revelations=== | ||
:In March 2018, former Analytica employee Christopher Wylie exposed the scandal through The Guardian and The New York Times, revealing that Facebook had known about the breach since 2015 but failed to notify affected users or enforce data deletion. | :In March 2018, former Analytica employee Christopher Wylie exposed the scandal through The Guardian and The New York Times, revealing that Facebook had known about the breach since 2015 but failed to notify affected users or enforce data deletion. | ||
=== Facebook's Response === | ===Facebook's Response=== | ||
:Facebook dismissed the incident as a "violation of terms" rather than a "data breach". | :Facebook dismissed the incident as a "violation of terms" rather than a "data breach". | ||
=== Outcome === | ===Outcome=== | ||
*Mark Zuckerberg testified before the U.S. Congress in April 2018, acknowledging lapses in oversight. | *Mark Zuckerberg testified before the U.S. Congress in April 2018, acknowledging lapses in oversight. | ||
*Facebook faced a $5 billion FTC fine in 2019 for privacy violations. | *Facebook faced a $5 billion FTC fine in 2019 for privacy violations. | ||
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**U.S. lawmakers proposed stricter social media regulations, though no comprehensive federal law was passed. | **U.S. lawmakers proposed stricter social media regulations, though no comprehensive federal law was passed. | ||
== Consumer response == | ==Consumer response== | ||
{{Placeholder box|Summary and key issues of prevailing sentiment from the consumers and commentators that can be documented via articles, emails to support, reviews and forum posts.}} | {{Placeholder box|Summary and key issues of prevailing sentiment from the consumers and commentators that can be documented via articles, emails to support, reviews and forum posts.}} | ||
== References == | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
[[Category:Incidents]] | |||
[[Category:Meta]] | |||