Facebook Suspends Data Analytics Firm Involved in Trump Campaign

Facebook is suspending political data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, which worked for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, after discovering the firm violated the social media network's privacy policies.

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In a statement, Facebook Deputy General Counsel Paul Grewal announced the firm had suspended Cambridge Analytica and its parent company Strategic Communications Laboratories (SCL) after reports they sold information about Facebook users to a third party.

The statement, which does not mention the Trump campaign, also warns that Facebook "will take legal action if necessary to hold them responsible and accountable for any unlawful behavior,” adding that it would continue its investigations.

On Cambridge Analytica's website, the firm claims it "provided the Donald J. Trump for President campaign with the expertise and insights that helped win the White House." Neither the firm nor Brad Parscale, who ran Trump's digital ad operation in 2016, have so far commented, acccording to Reuters.

In previous interviews, Parscale downplayed the firm's role in the campaign, insisting it mostly relied on data from Republican-affiliated organizations. However, according to Federal Election Commission records, the Trump campaign paid the analytics firm over US$6.2 million.  

Facebook also had problems with SCL in 2015, after learning that University of Cambridge Professor Aleksandr Kogan violated its policies when he shared data with a so-called 'research app' that used Facebook's login system to SCL/Cambridge Analytica and Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies.

The suspension means that Cambridge Analytica and SCL cannot buy ads on Facebook or administer clients' pages.