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Two years after Facebook faced backlash over the abuse of private information in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the social media giant is being hit with a legal dispute in the U.K., according to Insurance Journal.
Nearly a million users in England and Wales were affected by the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The lawsuit accuses Facebook of failure to protect its users’ personal information in the Cambridge Analytica breach, the BBC reported. Facebook was accused of collecting the private Facebook data of 87 million of its users to create targeted advertising during elections.
Facebook You Owe Us is the group taking action against Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Similarly, the group Google You Owe Us has brought a Google class action lawsuit regarding a data breach.
According to Insurance Journal, Facebook You Owe Us sent a letter to Facebook on 28 October launching the legal action against it and potentially initiating a lawsuit. Facebook You Owe Us is pressing for the users who have had their private information taken in the Cambridge Analytica scandal to be compensated.
Facebook You Owe Us is being represented by lawyers from Millberg London, the BBC reported.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal lawsuit is arguing that users’ private data was stolen without consent and Facebook breached the guidelines of the Data Protection Act 1998, according to the BBC.
“We have not received any documents regarding this claim,” a Facebook spokesperson told the BBC. “The Information Commissioner’s Office [ICO] investigation into these issues, which included seizing and interrogating Cambridge Analytica’s servers, found no evidence that any U.K. or EU users’ data was transferred by Dr. Kogan to Cambridge Analytica.”
Cambridge Analytica is known as a consulting firm for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. The ICO launched investigations to estimate show much data could have been accessed from U.K. and U.S. citizens, Bloomberg reported.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal stemmed from Facebook’s use of a personality quiz that retrieved access to information from millions of users who downloaded the app, according to Bloomberg.
Facebook has been no stranger to privacy breaches, and the Cambridge Analytica scandal intensified the scrutiny of the social media company. Facebook is the target of several privacy disputes in multiple countries, Bloomberg reported.
In 2019, the ICO came to a legal settlement with Facebook that included a request to end the investigation and a fine of £500,000 pounds, Bloomberg reported.
However, many believe the ICO’s imposed fine was too little to be punitive.
“By failing to protect our personal information from abuse, we believe that Facebook broke the law,” plaintiff’s counsel said, according to Bloomberg. “Paying less than 0.01% of your annual revenue in fines — pocket change to Facebook — is clearly a punishment that does not fit the crime.”
In July 2019, a historic $5 billion settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission was paid by Facebook to stop an investigation into the social media company’s privacy practices in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
And in September 2020, the former chief executive officer of Cambridge Analytica was banned from running firms for seven years.
Do you think the legal action taken against Facebook for the Cambridge Analytica scandal will result in a lawsuit? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Check back daily for the most recent U.K. class action lawsuit and consumer protection news.
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2 thoughts onFacebook Faces Legal Action In UK Over Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal
add me too
I have been waiting for action against big tec in the UK since brexit and as if by magic like buses they all come at once but the damage has already been done.