Cambridge Analytica (CA), the British marketing analytics firm, announced yesterday that it was closing and would file for insolvency in Britain and the United States after failing to recover from the Facebook data scandal.
The decision follows weeks of intense pressure on the company, hired by Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, after allegations emerged it may have hijacked up to 87 million Facebook users’ data.
According to AFP News Agency, it claimed it has been “vilified” by the “numerous unfounded accusations” which torpedoed its business and left the firm with “no realistic alternative” but to go into administration.
“Despite Cambridge Analytica’s unwavering confidence that its employees have acted ethically and lawfully… the siege of media coverage has driven away virtually all of the company’s customers and suppliers,” it said in a statement.
“As a result, it has been determined that it is no longer viable to continue operating the business.”
An affiliate of British firm Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), Cambridge Analytica has offices in London, New York, Washington, as well as Brazil and Malaysia.
As the crisis intensified, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg was forced to apologise to its billions of users amid a small but growing exodus from the site.
