How the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica Scandal Started

The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal was one of the most significant events in the digital media world, shedding light on how personal data can be misused for political purposes. It all started with a combination of lax data policies, academic research gone rogue, and a company’s ambitious goals to influence elections.

Facebook’s Data Policies

Before the scandal broke, Facebook allowed third-party developers to create apps that could access user data. At the time, users logging into an app with their Facebook account granted the app permission to collect not only their personal information (like name, location, and likes) but also data from their friends. This meant that a single user’s participation could expose data from hundreds or thousands of people connected to them.

Facebook had relatively weak oversight of how third-party apps used this data, assuming developers would follow the rules. This lack of regulation laid the foundation for the misuse that would later occur.

The Academic Researcher

In 2013, Aleksandr Kogan, a psychology professor at the University of Cambridge, developed a personality quiz app called “This Is Your Digital Life.” The app promised to reveal insights into a user’s personality based on their quiz answers. About 270,000 Facebook users installed the app, granting it access to their data—and their friends’ data as well. In total, the app collected data from around 87 million Facebook users.

While the app was initially presented as an academic project, Kogan shared this data with a private company, Cambridge Analytica, in violation of Facebook’s policies. This data-sharing arrangement marked the beginning of the scandal.

the data manipulators

Cambridge Analytica was a political consulting firm that specialized in using data to influence voter behavior. By analyzing the Facebook data provided by Kogan, Cambridge Analytica created psychological profiles of millions of individuals. These profiles included insights into people’s personalities, fears, and political leanings, which the company used to develop highly targeted political ads.

These ads were designed to manipulate voters by appealing to their specific fears and desires. For example, someone identified as anxious about immigration might be shown ads warning about immigration threats. Cambridge Analytica’s techniques were used during major political campaigns, including Donald Trump’s 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and the UK’s Brexit referendum

The Scandal Breaks

In 2018, two whistleblowers revealed how Cambridge Analytica had acquired and misused the data. Christopher Wylie, a former employee, publicly disclosed how the company manipulated Facebook users to influence elections. Simultaneously, investigative reporting by The Guardian and The New York Times exposed the scope of the data breach.
The revelations shocked the public and led to widespread criticism of Facebook for failing to protect user data. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was called to testify before the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament, where he admitted that Facebook had made mistakes.

The Fallout

The scandal had far-reaching consequences:

• Trust Issues: Facebook faced a major trust crisis, with millions of users questioning how their data was being handled.

• Regulations: Governments introduced stricter data protection laws, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe.

• Fines: Facebook paid a $5 billion fine to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States for privacy violations.

• Accountability: Cambridge Analytica shut down in 2018 due to backlash, though questions remain about its long-term impact on elections.

By Angela Vasconez B.