Cambridge Analytica closes shops after data mining scandal

The offices of Cambridge Analytica (CA) in central London, after it was announced that Britain’s information commissioner Elizabeth Denham is pursuing a warrant to search Cambridge Analytica’s computer servers… The company lost one longstanding client, the John Bolton Super PAC, when Mr. Bolton became the White House national security adviser and the super PAC suspended its operations last month. Mr. Bolton’s super PAC had paid Cambridge Analytica more than $1.2 million between 2014 and 2016, according to FEC records. Credit/msn.com

Cambridge Analytica closes shops after data mining scandal

Cambridge Analytica, the infamous data firm that allegedly worked for African politicians including former Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 and president Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, is shutting down following allegations about its misuse of Facebook data and the campaign tactics it pitched to clients.

msn.com said the company suspended its chief executive, Alexander Nix in March, and said it was launching an independent investigation to determine if the company engaged in any wrongdoing in its work on political campaigns.

“The company decided to close its doors because it was losing clients and facing mounting legal fees in the Facebook investigation, according to people familiar with the matter. SCL Group and SCL Elections, which are affiliated with Cambridge Analytica, also are shutting down in the U.S. and the U.K.

The firm and SCL Elections issued a joint statement on Wednesday confirming the companies’ closures. “Over the past several months, Cambridge Analytica has been the subject of numerous unfounded accusations,” the statement said. “The siege of media coverage has driven away virtually all of the company’s customers and suppliers. As a result, it has been determined that it is no longer viable to continue operating the business.”

Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group’s leadership also are involved in a variety of other entities, leaving open the possibility that the companies could rebrand their operations under a different name.The data firm and SCL Elections combined had close to 100 employees in 2017, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Facebook said data from as many as 87 million of its users may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.

In a conference call on Wednesday, Julian Wheatland, SCL chairman, told employees that the firm was shutting down, effective Wednesday, and that employees should turn in their computers, according to a person familiar with the matter. He also said the company’s independent investigation into whether Cambridge Analytica used the entrapment tactics Mr. Nix cited in the Channel 4 video had concluded and had “cleared” the company, the person said.