The attorneys general in New York and Massachusetts have asked Facebook to turn over information related to Cambridge Analytica’s alleged misuse of personal data that was improperly harvested from 50 million Facebook users.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey sent a letter to Facebook demanding the information. The attorneys general are also probing how the data breach happened.
“Consumers have a right to know how their information is used — and companies like Facebook have a fundamental responsibility to protect their users’ personal information,” Schneiderman said in a statement Tuesday. “Today’s demand letter is the first step in our joint investigation to get to the bottom of what happened.
“New Yorkers deserve answers, and if any company or if nay company or individual violated the law, we will hold them accountable.”
In the letter to Facebook, the attorneys general asked Facebook for information “concerning Facebook’s policies and procedures as they relate to the reported misuse of data by people and/or entities connected to SCL and Cambridge Analytica,” BuzzFeed reports.
Both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, a data firm based in London, have been under increased scrutiny after it was reported Cambridge Analytica misused personal data taken from 50 million Facebook profiles.
The data was used to profile voters and influence the 2016 presidential election, a whistleblower who worked for the firm said.
Healey announced this week she was starting an investigation into Cambridge Analytica in the hopes of gleaning more information as to how data from Facebook was shared.
“Companies that control huge amounts of personal data have a legal obligation to guard against theft and misuse of that information,” Healey said in a statement. “We are investigating to find out how and why this data was shared by Facebook and whether the appropriate steps were taken to protect it against misuse and manipulation.”
Cambridge Analytica has also found itself under pressure for comments its CEO, Alexander Nix, made while being covertly filmed.
Nix discussed with an undercover reporter sending Ukrainian women to the homes of political opponents and offering bribes as part of efforts to put politicians in compromising situations.
Cambridge Analytica announced Tuesday it was suspended Nix pending an investigation.
