Cambridge Analytica shuts down
May 2, 2018
Cambridge Analytica, the consulting firm at the heart of a scandal involving the alleged misuse of millions of people's Facebook data, announced on Wednesday it was closing down.
"The company is immediately ceasing all operations," it said in a statement, adding that it had filed for insolvency in the United Kingdom, where it is based, and would shortly do the same in the United States.
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The founder of SCL Group, Cambridge Analytica's parent company, had earlier told the Wall Street Journal that both companies would be shutting down.
An unnamed source also told the newspaper that SCL Group had made the decision because the firms were losing clients and incurring massive legal fees following the Facebook data revelations.
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Facebook scandal
In March, The New York Times and UK-based Observer reported that Cambridge Analytica had gained access to more than 80 million Facebook users' data.
The company reportedly used the information to help US President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and the Leave campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum. It suspended its CEO Alexander Tayler in April.
The revelations also rocked Facebook and led its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to publicly apologize for the data breach.
Read more: Facebook could face fine if German users affected by Cambridge Analytica data breach
'Unfounded accusations'
On Wednesday, Cambridge Analytica said it had been "the subject of numerous unfounded accusations" and "vilified for activities that are not only legal but also widely accepted" in online advertising.
An internal investigation, the company added, had revealed the allegations to be false.
Despite its conviction, the company said it was closing down because a "siege of media coverage has driven away virtually all of the company’s customers and suppliers."