United Kingdom imposes the maximum fine on Facebook by Cambridge Analytica


United Kingdom imposes the maximum fine on Facebook by Cambridge Analytica



The social network "did not provide the kind of protection it must offer according to data protection laws"



The authorities of the United Kingdom announced today that they will impose a fine of 500,000 pounds (565,000 euros) to the US company of social communication Facebook for violating the data protection law in this country.

The Office of the Commissioner of Information (ICO, in English), which ensures privacy and freedom of information, indicated that the company violated its duty to protect the personal information of its users and was not transparent about how other companies accessed those services. data.

The ICO is investigating from February to Facebook, along with the British consultant and closed Cambridge Analytica , for the alleged improper access to the data of 87 million users of the social network worldwide, which could be used in the referendum campaign on the membership of the United Kingdom to the European Union (EU), held on June 23, 2016.

The regulator said it will also take legal action against Cambridge Analytica's parent company, SCL Elections, which in May declared itself insolvent, for failing to comply with the request of US professor David Carroll to inform him of his personal data and how he had obtained them. .

Cambridge Analytica offered election marketing services that were allegedly used during the "Brexit" campaign or British exit from the EU and other electoral processes.

Organizations defending consumer data have regretted the small amount of the fine to Facebook, which is the maximum that the ICO can impose based on the data protection law of 1998, which is the one applied in this case and not the new European legislation that came into force this year, which includes greater penalties.

Claims

The fine has been communicated to the American company, which now has a time to present new allegations.

In a statement, Facebook privacy chief Erin Egan acknowledged, as she had previously done, that they should "have done more to investigate the allegations related to Cambridge Analytica and have taken action in 2015".

"We have worked closely with the ICO in its Cambridge Analytica research, as we have done with the authorities in the US and other countries. We will review this report and we will respond soon, "he added.

British Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said the important thing was "restoring confidence in the integrity of the democratic process," which is being threatened because "the average voter does not know what's going on behind the scenes." "People can not exercise control over their data or do not know or understand how it is used," he said.

The ICO also investigates, among other things, how eleven British parties used the citizens' data in the referendum campaign, and plans to present a final report next October.

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