Cambridge Analytica Being Investigated By Justice Department, FBI: Report
News of the investigation comes two months after the company was accused of harvesting 87 million Facebook users’ personal data.
The FBI and the Department of Justice are investigating Cambridge Analytica, the now-defunct data firm involved in a massive data breach in March, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
News of the investigation comes roughly two months after the London-based company was accused of secretly harvesting the personal data of at least 87 million Facebook users to better identify individuals that could be targeted and influenced by specific marketing material.
Federal investigators have reportedly questioned potential witnesses, including former employees and banks that conducted business with the company, a U.S. official and other people familiar with the probe told the Times.
The DOJ declined to comment, while the FBI did not immediately respond to a query.
The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency is conducting its own investigation into whether the firm violated the country’s Data Protection Act, the Times reported. The agency is looking into allegations that Cambridge Analytica employees may have sought to bribe foreign officials, tampered with evidence and hacked computers.
Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign hired Cambridge Analytica
but the company has denied that it used data acquired through Facebook to assist Trump’s efforts to win the election.
Secret recordings of Cambridge Analytica executives appeared to capture them bragging about helping elect Trump by using “unattributable and untraceable” advertising and attack ads, according to an undercover report by British news station Channel 4.
Cambridge Analytica Being Investigated By Justice Department, FBI: Report | HuffPost
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