It was being reported from numerous sources, including the Wall Street Journal and Gizmodo, that Cambridge Analytica and SCL, the companies that brought out how irresponsible, greedy and all-around Facebook is, sent out a press release a short while ago.
Earlier today, SCL Elections Ltd., as well as certain of its and Cambridge Analytica LLC’s U.K. affiliates (collectively, the “Company” or “Cambridge Analytica”) filed applications to commence insolvency proceedings in the U.K. The Company is immediately ceasing all operations and the boards have applied to appoint insolvency practitioners Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP to act as the independent administrator for Cambridge Analytica.
Additionally, parallel bankruptcy proceedings will soon be commenced on behalf of Cambridge Analytica LLC and certain of the Company’s U.S. affiliates in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
The accusations against Cambridge Analytica include waging a cyber-war on our country’s democracy by working to suppress democratic voters while promoting Russian interests, in a propaganda campaign that took place from around 2013 through the 2016 elections. They did this by harvesting—with Facebook’s help—millions of Americans private information. The WSJ’s coverage is predictably narrow.
The moves followed the release of a video that depicted Mr. Nix touting campaign tactics such as entrapping political opponents with bribes and sex. The sales pitch was captured by undercover journalists at British broadcaster Channel 4. Mr. Nix’s suspension also follows reports that the company improperly used data from millions of Facebook Inc. profiles without authorization.
The business had $15 million in U.S. political work in the 2016 election cycle. Since then, Cambridge hadn’t notched a single U.S. federal political client. It lost several commercial clients in recent months.
Considering that the company was started by billionaire Trump and Bannon supporter Robert Mercer, it seems like the job it was doing in America worked out so very well. It’s “shocking” that they didn’t have any new clients. One might even say “unbelievable.” Someone could also say “sounds a lot like bullshit.” As Guardian and Observer writer Carole Cadwalladr tweets:
Last month the New York Times also offered up this information on the founders of Cambridge Analytica:
The Facebook scandal has hit just as the Mercers appear to be expanding their business in the world of big data. Public records show that Ms. Mercer, her sister Jennifer and Mr. Nix serve as directors of Emerdata, a British data company formed in August by top executives at Cambridge Analytica and its affiliate, SCL Group, according to British corporate records.
Incorporation documents state that Emerdata specializes in “data processing, hosting and related activities.” An SCL official told Channel 4, a British television station, that Emerdata was established last year to combine SCL and Cambridge under one corporate entity.
What Emerdata actually “does,” is still incredibly unclear. Maybe they bulk shred documents?