Published in News

Facebook settles Cambridge Analytica scandal

by on29 August 2022


No-one will have to testify, nothing to see here move on please 

Social notworking site Facebook has settled the consumer lawsuits brought as a result of Cambridge Analytica's unauthorised harvesting of user data.

The deal means that the four year lawsuit is over, but Facebook does not have to defend its actions in court. It is unclear how much it had to pay to make the case go away.

The lawsuit claimed that Cambridge Analytica created a Facebook app called "This Is Your Digital Life" that was downloaded 300,000 times and harvested users' data. The app also accessed data describing users' Facebook Friends, potentially accessing personal information of 80 million-plus users.

All that data was used during the USA's 2016 Presidential election, campaigners for Brexit, and by Russian misinformation operatives.  But, hey, nothing to worry about its not like those events had much impact on anyone's lives. 

The fallout for Facebook from the revelations includes the loss of two previous privacy cases, a $5 billion penalty levied by the US Federal Trade Commission, and a $630,000 fine levied by UK authorities.

By settling the lawsuit, Zuckerberg and soon-to-be-former COO Sheryl Sandberg avoid having to appear at their September 20 scheduled depositions.

 

Last modified on 29 August 2022
Rate this item
(0 votes)

Read more about: