Critical SeverityPrivacy Violations
Meta (Facebook)•
Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal
Facebook allowed Cambridge Analytica to harvest personal data of 87 million users without consent for political advertising
# Cambridge Analytica Scandal
## What Happened
In 2018, it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, had harvested the personal data of up to 87 million Facebook users without their consent. The data was used to build psychological profiles for targeted political advertising during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and Brexit referendum.
## How It Worked
- A researcher created a personality quiz app on Facebook
- 270,000 people took the quiz and gave consent
- The app also harvested data from all their friends without consent
- This data included likes, location history, private messages, and more
- Cambridge Analytica used this to create detailed psychological profiles
## Impact
- 87 million users had their data compromised
- Undermined democratic elections
- Exposed Facebook's lax data protection practices
- Led to Mark Zuckerberg testifying before Congress
## Outcome
- Facebook settled with FTC for $5 billion
- Cambridge Analytica shut down
- Led to GDPR enforcement and privacy reforms
- Multiple ongoing investigations
## What Happened
In 2018, it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, had harvested the personal data of up to 87 million Facebook users without their consent. The data was used to build psychological profiles for targeted political advertising during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and Brexit referendum.
## How It Worked
- A researcher created a personality quiz app on Facebook
- 270,000 people took the quiz and gave consent
- The app also harvested data from all their friends without consent
- This data included likes, location history, private messages, and more
- Cambridge Analytica used this to create detailed psychological profiles
## Impact
- 87 million users had their data compromised
- Undermined democratic elections
- Exposed Facebook's lax data protection practices
- Led to Mark Zuckerberg testifying before Congress
## Outcome
- Facebook settled with FTC for $5 billion
- Cambridge Analytica shut down
- Led to GDPR enforcement and privacy reforms
- Multiple ongoing investigations
Outcome
Settled with FTC for $5 billion; company shut down