Security
08:25, 19-May-2018
Cambridge Analytica files for bankruptcy in the US following Facebook debacle
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Cambridge Analytica, the political consultancy at the center of Facebook Inc’s privacy scandal, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States late on Thursday.
Allegations surfaced this past March that Cambridge Analytica improperly used the data of 87 million Facebook users beginning in 2014 and was hired by President Donald Trump’s 2016 US election campaign.
Cambridge Analytica and its British parent SCL Elections Ltd said earlier this month that they would shut down immediately and begin bankruptcy proceedings after suffering a sharp drop in business.
The petition to file bankruptcy was submitted at the US Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York and was signed on behalf of Cambridge Analytica’s board by Rebekah and Jennifer Mercer, daughters of billionaire Robert Mercer.
The Mercer family was one of Trump’s biggest donors.
Cambridge Analytica LLC listed assets in the range of 100,001 to 500,000 US dollars and liabilities in the range of one million to 10 million US dollars.
London-based Cambridge Analytica was created in 2013 initially with a focus on US elections, with 15 million US dollars in backing from Mercer and a name chosen by former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon, according to a report by the New York Times.
Facebook has faced multiple investigations in the United States and Europe over its handling of personal data of users, hurting shares of the Mark Zuckerberg-led company.
Zuckerberg has appeared before US congressional committees to testify on data privacy and will meet leaders of the European Parliament soon.
Facebook said on Monday it has suspended around 200 apps in the first stage of its review into apps that had access to large quantities of user data before the company restricted data access.
Source(s): Reuters