Cambridge Analytica Scandal

Few days ago, I went to a juice shop and ordered rose milk. The Rose milk was yummy and I drank it. Paid the owner the billed amount and left the place. And exactly two days later, this incident happened. I got a notification from zomato stating, “Manu rose milk kudikerengala?” I was startled. Being a techie, I know anything I put on the internet can be accessed by apps like zomato, but this time I dint post it anywhere. At that point if anyone would have stated, ‘Cambridge Analytica’ i would have been clueless.

Intriguing:

“Is my mobile listening to everything I’m saying?”

Is it watching everything I do?

These thoughts were lingering in my mind at that moment. Have these thoughts ever crossed your mind? If yes, this topic would fascinate you.

The Scandal :

I decided to do some basic research and ended up discerning about the world’s most notorious data scandal, “THE CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA SCANDAL”. A British consulting firm named “Cambridge Analytica” hired Aleksandr kogan, a data scientist from the University of Cambridge to develop an app called “This is your Digital Life”. This app collected personal information of users and their friends who were using Facebook. Various advertising firms and companies used these personal information’s for their own profit. But this scandal became a world-wide sensation when Christopher Wyile, an ex-Cambridge Analytica employee disclosed its part in 2016 United states presidential campaign.

Facebook Response:

The app gathered data and developed psychographic profiles for users based on their personality and their political preferences. Donald Trump paid Cambridge Analytica a good sum and used these data to influence people in 2016 presidential election. To be precise, the app bolstered Trump by segregating people based on their political preference and did campaigns in favour of Trump. For instance, if person ‘A’ disliked Trump and cared for the prevention of child abuse, Facebook displayed campaign messages where Trump supported the same cause. This would naturally increase person A’s likeability towards Trump. Campaign organizers showed Trump supporters triumph images of Trump and negative news about his opponent Hillary Clinton.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerbug embraced this as a mistake and breach of trust from his side and apologised on CNN. Later he leveraged his privacy policies by implementing EU’s General Data protection Regulation in all areas of operation. The New York Times estimated that the collection of data impacted 50 million Facebook users, while Cambridge Analytica admitted that it collected only 30 million users’ information. However, Facebook later confirmed that it collected data from 87 million users.

When this scandal came to limelight on March 26, 2018, Facebook shares dropped by 24%, but Wall Street reported that the company recovered all its losses by May 10th. Enraged people across the globe embarked on a movement to boycott Facebook on all digital platforms with the hashtag DeleteFacebook.

In 2019 Netflix released a documentary titled “The Great Hack” which provides more information about the scandal and people directly and indirectly involved in it.

Finally, I could comprehend how my rose milk linked to Zomato. I computerized the bill for the rose milk I drank and paid it with my debit card. My bank links my card and my mobile number. I use the same mobile number to log into the Zomato app. So the next time you stay at your friend’s or relative’s place and return home, don’t be surprised to see your friend’s or relative’s toothpaste ad on your mobile.