The london headquarters of the consulting firm cambridge analytica was searched on friday evening. This was reported by the british news agency PA.
Previously, a court had ordered the m takedown. 18 employees of the UK’s information commissioner’s office (ICO) had gained access to the company’s headquarters that evening, PA reported.
Cambridge analytica became known as the company whose data analysis is believed to have contributed to donald trump’s victory in the 2016 u.S. Presidential election. The company is suspected of targeting millions of US voters on the internet with unauthorized election ads for donald trump. Illegally collected facebook data is said to have helped.
Cambridge analytica recently came under intense pressure after it emerged that chief executive alexander nix had bragged about blackmail attempts against election candidates on hidden camera. His company could "send girls to the candidate’s house". A reporter from the british channel 4 had posed as the representative of a potential rich client who wanted to ensure the success of several candidates in an election in sri lanka. Nix was then suspended.
The company had been locked out of facebook last weekend. Cambridge analytica has not deleted illegally obtained user data, contrary to earlier assurances, the online network stated in its statement of reasons. According to the "new york times" and the "guardian", some information from around 50 million facebook members is said to have reached cambridge analytica. To collect them, a survey on personality traits was set up, which was registered on facebook as scientific research. The data then went to cambridge analytica without the users’ knowledge.
Facebook has also been targeted by the authorities in connection with the data scandal. According to the "washington post," the U.S. Federal trade commission (FTC) has launched an official investigation into facebook. The chairman of the british parliament’s digital and media committee, damian collins, also called on facebook chief mark zuckerberg to face questions from members of parliament.