March 17, 2018 saw the downfall of one of the world’s dominant technological players; Facebook. The Guardian and The New York Times broke the news that data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica used and harvested data from Facebook users in an attempt to influence the outcomes of the 2016 US Presidential election and the Brexit vote.
While it may be rather impossible that you have not come across the name “Cambridge Analytica” on the news during these past two months, it may be the case that you are still unsure as to what really went on. Read on to discover the key points concerning the scandal that has caught the online world by surprise!
Who was involved?
The beginning of the scandal goes back to 2013 when academic Aleksandr Kogan and his company Global Science Research created an app called “thisisyourdigitalife”. Around 300,000 users were prompted by this app, which offered payment, to answer questions for a psychological profile. The app did not only harvest data from its users but also from users’ Facebook friends. As a result, Kogan gained access to the data of millions of Facebook profiles.
Cambridge Analytica got involved when Kogan shared with it the data he had acquired. This enabled the firm to build a software solution to help unveil and sway choices in elections. The firm built psychographic profiles of people, who then received biased pro-Trump material.
Who was the whistleblower?
It was Cambridge Analytica’s co-founder Christopher Wylie who blew the whistle about this misuse of data. Speaking about the firm’s leaders, Wylie claimed that “Rules don’t matter for them. For them, this is a war, and it’s all fair.”
In an exclusive write-up for The Guardian, Wylie argued that despite the fact that Facebook knew of this breach of data back in 2015, they did not own up to their responsibility until he came forward with signed contracts and invoices.
Who was affected?
Initial calculations showed that around 50 million people were affected by this harvesting of data. However, in an official statement Facebook said that “In total, we believe the Facebook information of up to 87 million people — mostly in the US — may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.” Facebook advised that people may check whether their data has been used by Cambridge Analytica or not here.
Unfortunately, more often than not, only when something bad happens do we start to actually care, and the Cambridge Analytica scandal is a proper demonstration of this. But perhaps the most dangerous thing to do in midst of all this is that, just because you have not been affected, you forget to ask yourself the very important question of: Who is using the personal data I willingly gave away online and what for?
Source for featured image: europeaninterest.eu
When The Whistle Blew 