The infamous Cambridge Analytica Facebook scandal has kept the social media giant in Congress’s crosshair since Donald Trump and Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign. Given that Facebook focuses on fomenting and allowing mobilization of radical oratory, problems still exist for the search media giant.
In addition to this, a new controversy surrounds the on-going Facebook-Cambridge Analytica saga. Facebook claims that it does not conduct any business in Australia. Moreover, Facebook also claimed that it has stopped acquiring data in Australia since the scandal gained prominence.
In 2020, Facebook was dealt with by legal action by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. According to OAIC, Facebook has reportedly breached over 300,000 Australians’ privacy from March 2014 & May 2015. Facebook allegedly used the data of more than 300,000 Australians to influence voting operations during Trump’s campaign, which was then headed by Steve Bannon.
OAIC came up with the allegation a couple of years after the scandal’s revelations featured in both Observer and Guardian. The disclosure said that Facebook had leaked 50 million users’ data alongside their names, dates, emails, birth, location, page likes, and friends list.
According to reports, Facebook used the data to build robust software that could further predict and shape voters’ choices. Moreover, the information was acquired via “This is your digital life”, a prominent quiz app that collected people who download the app. Now Facebook claims that the platform, with over 17 million users, doesn’t exist in Australia! A not-so-strong defence by Facebook, notable social media platform.
