Cambridge Analytica Declares Bankruptcy Following Facebook Data Scandal, To Cease All Operations

Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm at the centre of the highly controversial Facebook data leaks will be ceasing all operations and filing for bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

The company had been losing clients and was facing mounting legal fees in after it became known that the company had accessed private user data without their express permission.

It had been under heavy media gaze following reveals by whistleblowers in March following which Facebook had declared that private information of as many as 87 million people had been compromised and might have been used to affect elections all around the world, including the United States (US) presidential elections in 2016.

“Over the past several months, Cambridge Analytica has been the subject of numerous unfounded accusations.

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,” the statement released by the company read.

Cambridge Analytica has filed for ‘parallel bankruptcy proceedings’ and its affiliate groups SCL Elections in United Kingdom and SCL Group in the US will also be shutting operations. However, since the company leadership is involved in several other entities a rebranding might still be possible.

The scandal had generated waves in India as well, as the firm’s association with several political parties became known, and after a Congress party symbol was spotted at the company CEO’s office in London.