This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/23/judge-grants-search-warrant-for-cambridge-analyticas-offices
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Investigators raid offices of Cambridge Analytica after search warrant granted | Investigators raid offices of Cambridge Analytica after search warrant granted |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Eighteen enforcement officers have entered the Cambridge Analytica headquarters in London’s West End to search the premises after the data watchdog was granted a warrant to examine its records. | Eighteen enforcement officers have entered the Cambridge Analytica headquarters in London’s West End to search the premises after the data watchdog was granted a warrant to examine its records. |
| Four days after the information commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, first announced plans to raid the offices, a judge issued a warrant on Friday evening. | Four days after the information commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, first announced plans to raid the offices, a judge issued a warrant on Friday evening. |
| Denham has been seeking access to records held by the London-based data analytics company which faces allegations it may have illegally acquired the information of millions of Facebook users and used it to profile and target voters during political campaigns. | Denham has been seeking access to records held by the London-based data analytics company which faces allegations it may have illegally acquired the information of millions of Facebook users and used it to profile and target voters during political campaigns. |
| Mr Justice Leonard granted the warrant after a five-hour hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, adjourned from Wednesday. | Mr Justice Leonard granted the warrant after a five-hour hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, adjourned from Wednesday. |
| A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said: “We are pleased with the decision of the judge and we plan to execute the warrant shortly. This is just one part of a larger investigation into the use of personal data and analytics for political purposes. | A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said: “We are pleased with the decision of the judge and we plan to execute the warrant shortly. This is just one part of a larger investigation into the use of personal data and analytics for political purposes. |
| “As you will expect, we will now need to collect, assess and consider the evidence before coming to any conclusions.” | “As you will expect, we will now need to collect, assess and consider the evidence before coming to any conclusions.” |
| The focus of the data watchdog’s investigation includes the acquisition and use of Facebook data by Cambridge Analytica, its parent company SCL and Dr Aleksandr Kogan, the academic who developed the app used to gather the data. | The focus of the data watchdog’s investigation includes the acquisition and use of Facebook data by Cambridge Analytica, its parent company SCL and Dr Aleksandr Kogan, the academic who developed the app used to gather the data. |
| The growing scandal stems from claims over the harvesting of personal data and whether it was used to affect the outcome of Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign and the EU referendum. | The growing scandal stems from claims over the harvesting of personal data and whether it was used to affect the outcome of Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign and the EU referendum. |
| Less than an hour after the warrant was granted, a group of 18 people, some wearing ICO enforcement jackets, entered the building from New Oxford Street, led by a woman holding a piece of paper which appeared to be a warrant. | Less than an hour after the warrant was granted, a group of 18 people, some wearing ICO enforcement jackets, entered the building from New Oxford Street, led by a woman holding a piece of paper which appeared to be a warrant. |
| The enforcement officers were seen on the second floor – where Cambridge Analytica is thought to have its offices. | The enforcement officers were seen on the second floor – where Cambridge Analytica is thought to have its offices. |
| It is understood they are searching for correspondence and communications between SCL and GSR, as well as data obtained from Facebook via Kogan. | It is understood they are searching for correspondence and communications between SCL and GSR, as well as data obtained from Facebook via Kogan. |
| News of the raid came as the acting CEO of Cambridge Analytica, Dr Alexander Tayler, appointed after the suspension of Alexander Nix, issued an apology about the way some data had been collected by an affiliate company. | News of the raid came as the acting CEO of Cambridge Analytica, Dr Alexander Tayler, appointed after the suspension of Alexander Nix, issued an apology about the way some data had been collected by an affiliate company. |
| Saturday 17 March | |
| The Observer publishes online its first story on the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, written by Carole Cadwalladr and Emma Graham-Harrison. | |
| Former Cambridge Analytica employee Christopher Wylie reveals how the firm used personal information taken in early 2014 to build a system that could profile individual US voters. | |
| The data was collected through an app, built by academic Aleksandr Kogan, separately from his work at Cambridge University, through his company Global Science Research (GSR). | |
| Sunday 18 March | |
| As the Observer publishes its full interview with Wylie in the print edition, the fallout begins. US congressional investigators call for Cambridge Analytica boss Alexander Nix to testify again before their committee. | |
| Monday 19 March | |
| Channel 4 News airs the findings of an undercover investigation where Cambridge Analytica executives boast of using honey traps, fake news campaigns and operations with ex-spies to swing election campaigns. | |
| Tuesday 20 March | |
| A former Facebook employee claims hundreds of millions of Facebook users may have had their private information harvested by companies in similar methods. | |
| Wednesday 21 March | |
| UK MPs summon Mark Zuckerberg to appear before a select committee investigating fake news, and accuse Facebook of misleading them at a previous hearing. | |
| Thursday 22 March | |
| It emerges Facebook had previously provided Kogan with an anonymised, aggregate dataset of 57bn Facebook friendships. Zuckerberg breaks his silence to call the misuse of data a 'breach of trust'. | |
| Friday 23 March | |
| Brittany Kaiser, formerly Cambridge Analytica’s business development director, reveals the blueprint for how CA claimed to have won the White House for Donald Trump by using Google, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. | |
| “I am sorry that, in 2014, SCL Elections [an affiliate of Cambridge Analytica] licensed Facebook data from a research company [GSR] that had not received consent from respondents,” he said. “The company believed the data had been obtained in line with Facebook’s terms of service and data protection laws. | “I am sorry that, in 2014, SCL Elections [an affiliate of Cambridge Analytica] licensed Facebook data from a research company [GSR] that had not received consent from respondents,” he said. “The company believed the data had been obtained in line with Facebook’s terms of service and data protection laws. |
| “We are now undertaking an independent third-party audit to verify that we do not hold any GSR data.” | “We are now undertaking an independent third-party audit to verify that we do not hold any GSR data.” |
| Tayler went on to deny that a former employee who provided documents and information about Cambridge Analytica to the Observer was a whistleblower. | Tayler went on to deny that a former employee who provided documents and information about Cambridge Analytica to the Observer was a whistleblower. |
| He said: “The source of allegations against the company is not a whistleblower or a founder of the company. Christopher Wylie was a part-time contractor who left in July 2014 and has no direct knowledge of our work or practices since that date. | He said: “The source of allegations against the company is not a whistleblower or a founder of the company. Christopher Wylie was a part-time contractor who left in July 2014 and has no direct knowledge of our work or practices since that date. |
| “He was at the company for less than a year, after which he was made the subject of restraining undertakings to prevent his misuse of the company’s intellectual property while attempting to set up his own rival firm.” | “He was at the company for less than a year, after which he was made the subject of restraining undertakings to prevent his misuse of the company’s intellectual property while attempting to set up his own rival firm.” |
| Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who has been called to give evidence to MPs. | Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who has been called to give evidence to MPs. |
| Cambridge Analytica, SCL, Kogan and Facebook deny any wrongdoing. | Cambridge Analytica, SCL, Kogan and Facebook deny any wrongdoing. |
| Earlier in the week, the culture secretary, Matt Hancock, hinted that the government would consider further strengthening the information commissioner’s powers to investigate the misuse of personal data amid criticism that it had taken so long to get a search warrant. | Earlier in the week, the culture secretary, Matt Hancock, hinted that the government would consider further strengthening the information commissioner’s powers to investigate the misuse of personal data amid criticism that it had taken so long to get a search warrant. |
| Following Friday’s hearing , Leonard said he would outline the reasons for his decision on Tuesday. | Following Friday’s hearing , Leonard said he would outline the reasons for his decision on Tuesday. |
| Cambridge Analytica | Cambridge Analytica |
| The Cambridge Analytica files | The Cambridge Analytica files |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |