OPC to look into Cambridge Analytica revelations

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) is looking into reports data of 50 million Facebook Inc. users was used without their permission by a company with connections to Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign. In an emailed statement Monday, the OPC said the office “will be reaching out to Facebook to seek information regarding whether Canadians’ personal information was affected by the issues raised in those reports. That will help us determine possible next steps.” The release added that the OPC is “aware that the UK Information Commissioner’s Office has launched a related investigation. We’ve confirmed with them our willingness to assist as appropriate and remain in contact with them. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that the privacy rights of Canadian Facebook users are protected." Three NDP MPs made public a letter to the OPC asking the office to look into the compliance of Facebook with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Charlie Angus, Brian Masse and Matthew Dubé said in Monday’s letter that Facebook had known about the misuse of data since 2015 but did not inform its users. “The reaction of Facebook’s executives to this enormous breach of its users’ privacy has been incredibly cavalier, considering both its scope and the lingering concerns around the role of digital skullduggery in the recent American presidential election and information warfare in elections across the globe,” the release said. The MPs also plan to call for a Parliamentary investigation, “as well as a broader review of the practices of large tech and media platforms with regard to user privacy, data storage and market competition.” The New York Times and The Observer reported over the weekend that data analytics company Cambridge Analytica pulled the data of millions of users without consent. Cambridge Analytica was founded by Steve Bannon, who ran Trump’s presidential campaign, and Robert Mercer, a billionaire donor to the Republican Party. The data was used for “psychographic modeling” which “underpinned” the company’s work for the Trump, according to the New York Times. The company is also under investigation in the United Kingdom over allegedly illegal work it did for the Brexit campaign, the newspaper said. Facebook said in a statement on its website over the weekend that it was suspending Cambridge Analytica from its platform. In Canada, Facebook announced a new ‘election integrity’ initiative last October ahead of the 2019 federal election. The Wire Report has reported on concerns that both fake news and unregulated social media election advertising and “filter bubble” content could affect the outcome.

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OPC to look into Cambridge Analytica revelations

Brief | March 19, 2018

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