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Academic Behind Cambridge Analytica Data Mining Sues Facebook for Defamation

Since the full scope of Cambridge Analyticas data mining was revealed last year, Facebook has repeatedly tried to shift blame for the privacy breach onto the academic, Aleksandr Kogan.

Facebook executives including the chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg have said Mr. Kogan told Facebook that the data was for academic purposes when it was being collected for use in political campaigns.

Mr. Kogan, 32, a former psychology professor, used a quiz app to collect the data, and has insisted that the fine print accompanying his app said the information could be used commercially. That was an outright violation of Facebooks rules at the time, but the company does not appear to have regularly checked that apps were complying.

The company claimed it had used Facebook data and other information to develop analytical tools that could identify the personalities of American voters and influence their behavior.

Facebook, which has since tightened its privacy protections, allowed app developers broad access to its users data at the time.

Many were unaware their data was exposed, and Facebook was plunged into the worst crisis of its 14-year history after the scope of Cambridge Analyticas data harvesting was revealed by The New York Times and The Observer of London.

The company has since said that as many as 87 million users were affected, and it is facing investigations by federal prosecutors and regulators as a result. At least one of those investigations is being run by prosecutors from the Northern District of California, and appears to be partly focused on Facebooks claims that it was misled by Cambridge.

Federal prosecutors in New York are conducting what appears to be a separate criminal investigation into data deals Facebook struck with some of the worlds largest technology companies, including Amazon, Microsoft and Netflix.

Original article