Facebook May Be In For Another Cambridge Analytica-Like Data Privacy Breach

With the reveal that Cambridge Analytica was accessing user data on Facebook came a lot of grief for the social media company. Hearings, restrictions, and fines aside, Facebook lost a lot of public trust, and they may be about to lose a heck of a lot more.

It seems Facebook has suspended another analytics firm, this one the Boston-based Crimson Hexagon. The firm has been suspended from both Facebook and Instagram while their data collection practices are investigated. So far, the social media giant says it hasn¡¯t found evidence of any improperly obtained data for either platform, but it does believe there¡¯s something to find. ¡°We don't allow developers to build surveillance tools using information from Facebook or Instagram,¡± Facebook told Engadget. ¡°We take these allegations seriously, and we have suspended these apps while we investigate.¡±

Crimson Hexagon advertises on its website that it has ¡°instant access to over one trillion consumer conversations from social media, forums, blogs, reviews and more.¡± That¡¯s a worrisome boast for a data analysis firm to make, especially in the wake of Cambridge Analytica. Even more troubling is that, aside from clients like Samsung, Twitter, Adidas and GM, the Wall Street Journal also indicates that Crimson Hexagon has previously worked with both US government agencies and a Russian nonprofit group tied to the Kremlin.

So far, it seems Crimson Hexagon is cooperating with Facebook¡¯s investigation and may meet with the company's staff soon. Whether Facebook actually finds any evidence of wrongdoing is impossible to say right now, but it¡¯s at least heartening to see the company finally take the entire issue more seriously, even if it is for fear of backlash rather than in good faith.