The British consultancy firm that was embroiled in the recent Facebook data scandal is shutting down.
Cambridge Analytica is accused of improperly obtaining the personal data of tens of millions of Facebook users... to help Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Our Ro Aram has this story.
Cambridge Analytica and its parent company SCL Elections say they are immediately ceasing all operations and have started insolvency proceedings both in the U.S. and the UK.
It said the negative media coverage in the wake of the Facebook data scandal left it with no clients and mounting legal fees.
Cambridge Analytica continues to deny accusations that it failed to delete the personal data which Facebook knew it had improperly obtained on users three years ago and using that data to target voters in the 2016 U.S. elections.
The firm also came under fire after undercover recordings released by the UK's Channel 4 News showed the company's executives bragging about their methods to help Trump win the election, including "sending some girls" to certain politicians to obtain compromising material.
The comments led to the CEO Alexander Nix's suspension in March after the recordings were released.
Meanwhile, there's some skepticism surrounding the firm's decision to shut down, especially when it's subject to audit by Facebook as well as American and British authorities.
Critics believe Cambridge Analytica and SCL Elections may be shutting operations to limit or restrict the ability of the authorities' investigations and to possibly get rid of evidence.
Facebook said it will continue with its own probe into matter despite the firm's closure.
Ro Aram, Arirang News.