UK watchdog orders Cambridge Analytica to hand over American's personal data

Source: Reuters



Reuters Staff

(Reuters) - Britain’s data privacy watchdog has ordered Cambridge Analytica to hand over all the personal information it holds on a U.S. academic, confirming the right of people abroad to seek data held by a UK firm.

Data privacy activists say that it sets a precedent that would enable millions of other U.S. voters to request information that the company had collected on them.

The Information Commissioner’s Office served notice to SCL Elections, Cambridge Analytica’s parent, to provide the information it holds on David Carroll, saying failure to do so would be a criminal offence punishable by an unlimited fine. The order comes days after both firms filed for insolvency after reports that Cambridge Analytica had improperly obtained data on tens of millions of Facebook users without their knowledge or consent.

Cambridge Analytica advised U.S. President Donald Trump’s election campaign, building psychographic profiles of the electorate to help micro-target voters with advertising in key swing states.

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