Facebook stocks have collapsed by nearly 7% after Wall Street opened. This was a result of the scandal regarding the use of personal data of 50 million users of the leading social internet media and it is gaining speed very fast.
The storm around Facebook has spread over the weekend, after US and British legislators accused it of not giving enough details about how the analytical company – Cambridge Analytica has received access to private information about tens of millions of members of the social network without their explicit permission.
The disclosure made by a former Cambridge Analytica employee Christopher Wylie reveal that the company has collected data for millions of people, in most cases without their consent. On Monday, the British TV Channel 4 showed a video from a hidden camera that captured the company’s head Alexander Nix, in which he speaks about how his team could discredit politicians in an interest of his potential clients.
British Commissioner for Information Protection, Elizabeth Denham launched an investigation into Cambridge Analytica on the use of data received via online tests with which the network is full and made by millions of Facebook users.
Denham asked Cambridge Analytica to give her team access to its database and servers, but the company refused. Therefore, Denham said she would ask the court for a search warrant.
Cambridge Analytica justified itself that all rules were followed during the processing of the data. Last Friday, however, Facebook announced that it suspended Cambridge Analytica’s access to its platforms and data until the end of their own investigation.
The worries for a World Trade War following the tariffs imposed by Trump for imports of steel and aluminium, as well as the investor tension before the two-day FED meeting launching tomorrow, are also affecting other significant companies – the stocks of Caterpillar Inc. decreased by more than 3% and the ones of 3M Co. – by 1,76%.
Cambridge Analytica’s name is associated with its work in favour of Donald Trump’s campaign for US President and the UK campaign to leave the EU. The basis of its data collection and processing methods is the method of psychometry, or also known as “psychographic” profiling, which focuses on analyzing psychological features and personal characteristics.
The studies show that the customised approach has efficiency. Up to 63% more clicks and up to 1400 more are convinced to take action when Facebook provides advertising campaigns to people tailored to their interests.
