As CBI Files Case Against Cambridge Analytica, A Look Back At The Biggest Facebook Scandal
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against Cambridge Analytica and another UK firm Global Science Research Limited Company for "illegal harvesting of personal data from Facebook users in India,".
The action came after a preliminary enquiry into the matter showed that Global Science Research had created an app "thisisyourdigitallife" which was authorised by Facebook to collect specific datasets of its users for research and academic purposes in 2014.
Case registered in 2018
The case was registered after the CBI registered a Preliminary Enquiry in July 2018 on the central government's recommendation. The CBI PE came after Union Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told the Rajya Sabha that the probe will be handed over to the central agency.
The PE was registered after number of media reports appeared with respect to alleged illegal harvesting of personal data of Facebook users and their friends by Cambridge Analytica (CA) through Global Science Research Limited (GSR).
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had sought details from Facebook and Cambridge Analytica for the alleged violations and its possible misuse by Cambridge Analytica for profiling and influencing elections in India.
CBI examined all details shared by Cambridge Analytica and Facebook
The CBI had examined a set of details shared by Cambridge Analytica and Facebook in its ongoing probe into alleged data harvesting of Indians from the social media platform.
The agency had sought the data from Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, based in Britain and the US respectively, in order to know the method of data collection by the Cambridge Analytica, the political consultation firm that combined data mining, data brokerage, and data analysis with strategic communication during the electoral processes.
Facebook had collected certificates from both the firms in 2016-17 that data collected by them using "thisisyourdigitallife" was accounted for and destroyed. However, the CBI enquiry did not find any evidence of any such destruction, according to the officials.
"The enquiry prima facie established that Global Science Research Ltd, UK dishonestly and fraudulently accessed data of app users of "thisisyourdigitallife" and their Facebook friends," an official said, citing the FIR.
'Illegal means' employed
Cambridge Analytica allegedly received data from the Global Science Research, which employed "illegal means" to harvest personal data of Indians on Facebook, which has more than 20 crore users from India.
Personal data of 5.62 lakh Indian Facebook users were accessed by the company which it had obtained illegally.
It had also since emerged that Cambridge Analytica had worked with many political parties in India.
Cambridge Analytica earlier faced allegations that it used personal information harvested from 87 million Facebook accounts to help Donald Trump win the 2016 US Presidential election.
In 2018, Cambridge Analytica filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal had once again highlighted the issue of online data privacy and forced Facebook to implement stricter regulations about how and who can access its data.
