In the opening paragraphs, we’ll provide a quick overview of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and how it impacted Facebook. Cambridge Analytica was a British political consulting firm that improperly obtained data on millions of Facebook users and used it for political advertising purposes. This raised major questions around privacy, data usage, and the role of social media in elections.
What is Cambridge Analytica?
Cambridge Analytica was a British political consulting and data analytics firm that combined data mining, data brokerage, and data analysis with strategic communication for electoral processes. It was started in 2013 as an offshoot of the SCL Group.
The company was partly owned by the hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer and was headed by Steve Bannon (who later became the White House Chief Strategist) from 2014-2016. The company marketed itself as offering data-driven campaign strategies and targeting voters based on personality.
How did Cambridge Analytica obtain Facebook user data?
In 2014, Cambridge Analytica acquired data on millions of Facebook users without their consent through a third-party Facebook app called “This Is Your Digital Life.” This app was built by Aleksandr Kogan, a Cambridge University academic, and installed by around 270,000 people.
Due to Facebook’s lax policies at the time, the app was able to access not only the personal data of the users who installed it, but also data on those users’ friends network, resulting in access to over 50 million Facebook profiles. This data was then improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica for political ad targeting purposes.
What kind of data did Cambridge Analytica gather?
The data that Cambridge Analytica acquired on Facebook users included:
- Basic profile information like name, gender, location
- Page likes
- Birthdates
- Newsfeed posts
- Friend lists
- Private messages in some cases
Beyond basic profile data, Cambridge Analytica also gathered extensive psychological profiles on users by collecting their Facebook activity and likes. They used this to categorize people into personality types based on the OCEAN model – Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. This psychographic data was core to Cambridge Analytica’s political ad targeting strategy.
How did Cambridge Analytica use this Facebook data?
Cambridge Analytica used the ill-gotten Facebook user data for political advertising purposes. Some of the campaigns they were involved in include:
- 2014 US Midterm elections
- 2016 Presidential campaign of Ted Cruz
- 2016 Presidential campaign of Donald Trump
- 2016 LeaveEU campaign for Brexit
By combing through people’s Facebook activity and likes, Cambridge Analytica algorithmically assessed users’ personality types and political inclinations. They used this information to create targeted political ads and messaging aimed at voters’ unique psychological makeups and pressure points, with the goal of influencing their votes and campaign contributions.
What was the impact of Cambridge Analytica’s targeting tactics?
It is hard to quantify the exact impact of Cambridge Analytica’s psychographic targeting on election outcomes. However, many experts believe their tactics were unprecedented in scale and precision at the time and likely shifted votes in key states. Some of the reported effects include:
- Increasing voter turnout among targeted demographics
- Suppressing opposition votes by discouraging certain people from voting
- Flipping moderate voters to conservative candidates
- Boosting fundraising revenue by targeting messaging to donors’ personality traits
The company claimed it could drive turnout up or down by 10 percent among different groups. Cambridge Analytica’s influence operations highlighted the potential dangers of weaponized behavioral data and microtargeted content on social media.
When did the scandal come to light?
In early 2018, Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie revealed how the company had misused Facebook user data to build political profiles and target voters. This kicked off a firestorm of media coverage and a reckoning over Facebook’s role in enabling data misuse. Some key timeline points:
- March 2018 – The Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal kicks off as reports reveal the scale of the data harvest.
- March-April 2018 – Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is called to testify before the US Congress and UK Parliament over the scandal.
- April 2018 – Facebook estimates 87 million users had their data improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.
- May 2018 – Cambridge Analytica shuts down operations and begins bankruptcy proceedings.
What was Facebook’s role and response?
Facebook faced enormous scrutiny for allowing the data leak through its poor governance over third-party apps. Some key aspects of Facebook’s role include:
- Facebook’s loose app policies enabled the large-scale data scraping.
- Facebook learned about the breach in 2015 but did not disclose it until 2018.
- Mark Zuckerberg initially downplayed the scandal but later had to apologize and testify before Congress.
- Facebook declared it would audit apps, restrict developer access, and better police data use, though critics remain skeptical.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal marked a watershed moment for Facebook. It faced PR crises, stock declines, user distrust, and increased government scrutiny in the aftermath. However, some argue Facebook has still not done enough to address issues around data, privacy, and election integrity on its platforms.
What was the impact on Cambridge Analytica as a company?
The data scandal spelled the rapid downfall of Cambridge Analytica. Some of the key repercussions faced by the firm include:
- Loss of clients, partners, and backing companies
- Removal of its app from Facebook’s platform
- Bans from advertising on Twitter, Google, and other tech companies
- Regulatory investigations in multiple countries
- Search of its offices by UK authorities
- Filing for bankruptcy and shutting down in May 2018
Within a couple months of the scandal breaking, Cambridge Analytica went from being a well-funded data mining giant to closing its doors and liquidating assets. However, some worry former employees are still engaging in similar activities.
What were the broader impacts on politics and technology?
The Cambridge Analytica scandal shook public faith in both technology and political institutions. Some of the core issues it raised include:
- Privacy controls around personal data
- Transparency in political advertising and messaging
- Social media manipulation of voters
- Microtargeting echo chambers and polarization
- Protection of democratic elections and values
In the aftermath, lawmakers have proposed regulations like the Honest Ads Act and Social Media Privacy Protection Act to address online electoral abuses. The scandal also heightened calls to break up the power of Facebook and other tech giants. Other fallouts continue to unfold, such as Cambridge Analytica’s role in the January 2021 Capitol insurrection.
Conclusion
The Cambridge Analytica scandal exposed the underbelly of using data to manipulate democratic elections. It also thrust issues like privacy, surveillance capitalism, and social media regulation into the mainstream. The full impacts from citizens’ data being weaponized for political gain without their consent remain to be seen. With revelations of data misuse and microtargeting on the rise, stronger oversight and accountability of how personal data is gathered, shared and exploited for advertising are badly needed.