Facebook has suspended AggregateIQ, a Canadian political consulting agency that has been linked to SCL, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica.
“In light of recent reports that AggregateIQ may be affiliated with SCL and may, as a result, have improperly received FB user data, we have added them to the list of entities we have suspended from our platform while we investigate. Our internal review continues, and we will cooperate fully with any investigations by regulatory authorities,” a Facebook spokesperson told the National Observer.
The announcement comes amid fallout from a massive scandal that erupted when it was revealed that the data of tens of millions of Facebook users was improperly obtained by Cambridge Analytica, the British-based data research firm that worked with the Trump campaign in 2016. Last week Faceboook raised it the number of users it believes were impacted to up to 87 million.
AggregateIQ reportedly worked to convince British citizens to vote for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union in 2016.
But AggregateIQ ‘s website says the company “has never been and is not a part of Cambridge Analytica or SCL,” and has never had a contract with Cambridge Analytica.
The Canadian Press reported AggregateIQ received $100,000 in federal funds in 2017 to develop data-driven tools for political campaigns.
Facebook estimated the personal information of roughly 620,000 users in Canada was also improperly obtained by Cambridge Analytica.
