Cambridge Analytica

What is Cambridge Analytica?
Cambridge Analytica, is a British agency which practices data-mining, data analysis, and strategic communication to influence audience behavior. They have two sides of the company, Cambridge Analytica Commercial and Cambridge Analytica Political. CA Commercial focuses on improving marketing by influencing behavior whereas CA Political focuses on reducing costs and targeting individual beliefs.

Mission Statement
"To deliver Data-Driven Behavioral Change by understanding what motivates the individual and engaging with target audiences in ways that move them to action."

CA & Facebook
In March 2018, Facebook released information to the public regarding data that Cambridge Analytica was improperly receiving profile information of an estimated 50 million users. It was reported that Cambridge Analytica used the data to sway political campaigns and elections. Recent news shows that the total of 50 million users with compromised data, had risen to a total of 87 million Facebook users. Facebook is now allowing users to check to see if their data has been shared with Cambridge Analytica.

Since then, the CEO of Cambridge Analytica, Alexander Nix, was suspended due to data abuse and scandals regarding Facebook. Alexander Tayler, chief data officer at the time, took over the company as CEO following the accusations. He now has stepped down from this position to return to his prior.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and co-founder of Facebook, has been brought to trial regarding data and data privacy.

CA & Donald Trump's 2016 Presidential Campaign
As stated before, Cambridge Analytica agency is divided by two principles, Political and Commercial. According to recent news, Donald Trump's election team was involved with Cambridge Analytica during the 2016 Presidential Campaign. The Facebook data breach shed light on the influence Cambridge Analytica had over the election.

Cambridge Analytica harvested data from millions of Facebook profiles, in order to build a powerful software program to predict and influence choices at the ballot box. The unprecedented data harvesting and the reasons behind it, leave users questioning the role Facebook had in the election.