The Cambridge Analytica scandal shakes Facebook and the tech industry
Revelations that a political consultancy had harvested the data of millions of Facebook users triggered a global reckoning over privacy.
A scandal erupted this year that would reshape the public's relationship with the technology industry, as revelations that a political consultancy had improperly harvested the personal data of tens of millions of Facebook users without their consent triggered a global reckoning over privacy, data and the power of the big tech platforms.
The firm at the center of the affair had obtained data on a vast number of users, originally gathered through a personality-quiz app, and used it to build tools intended to influence voters. The disclosures prompted outrage, investigations on multiple continents, and a sharp fall in the social network's share price.
The company's chief executive was summoned before lawmakers to answer pointed questions about how the platform handled user data and what responsibility it bore for the ways that data could be exploited. The hearings became a defining moment in the growing scrutiny of Silicon Valley.
The scandal crystallised anxieties that had been building for years about the enormous troves of personal information collected by technology companies, the opacity of how that data was used, and the potential for it to be weaponised in politics. It fuelled a movement to delete accounts and a broader questioning of the business models built on surveillance and targeted advertising.
In its wake, regulators intensified efforts to rein in the platforms, and the episode accelerated the passage and enforcement of data-protection laws. It marked a turning point in the public mood, as the techno-optimism that had surrounded social media gave way to a more wary, critical stance.
The affair would have lasting consequences, informing debates over regulation, misinformation and the responsibilities of the platforms for years to come. It stood as a landmark in the story of how society came to grapple with the immense and often unaccountable power that a handful of technology companies had come to wield over information, communication and democratic life.