The Central Investigation Agency CBI has registered a case against the British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. This case has been registered on this company for stealing the personal data of Facebook users of India. Apart from Cambridge Analytica, CBI has also registered a case against another company Global Science Research for data theft of more than 5.6 lakh Indian Facebook users. Cambridge Analytica is a unit of the SCL Group which is a government and military contractor.
Let us know that the CBI started the investigation against these two companies in this case only in 2018. Union Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had earlier informed Parliament that the CBI would initiate an inquiry into the matter.
Accusations on Congress over Cambridge Analytica
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had alleged that Congress had appointed Cambridge Analytica to campaign its party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, the Congress denied all these allegations. It is alleged that the data of Facebook users has been misused to influence the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in India.
Cambridge Analytica was formed in 2013
According to a New York Times report, Cambridge Analytica was formed in 2013 in the wake of the US election. Republican donor Robert Mercer was involved in this. Robert is believed to have contributed $ 15 million to this company. In 2019, US regulators found that British consultancy Cambridge Analytica collected data from Facebook users incorrectly. The US Federal Trade Commission started its investigation in March 2018 and found in its investigation that Cambridge Analytica was misappropriating the personal information of Facebook users and using it to influence their political ideology.