Data Scandal

By facebooker_1833664723355278

  • Facebook knows ahead of time

    Facebook knows ahead of time that the Guardian and NYT will issue bombshell reports to expose a data lean concerning tens of millions of users. Letters are sent to media firms to explain the situation. A blog post explains the suspension of Cambridge Analytica and breaks the news of the breach.

  • Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed in multiple reports

    Reports from the Guardian and the New York Times revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm that worked with President Donald Trump, had harvested the personal information of around 50 million Facebook users without permission.

  • Facebook suspends key players

    Facebook bans Cambridge Analytica, it's parent company SCL Group, Kogan, and whistleblower Christopher Wylie from the platform.

  • Facebook stocks plummet

    Facebook stocks crashed in premarket trading less than 24 hours after the reports went live, losing $23.8 billion from its previous $538 billion market value.

  • The U.S. government pressures Facebook to testify

    US Senator Edward Markey posts this tweet: "Facebook and Cambridge Analytica should be made to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee so that we can get to the bottom of these disturbing reports that may impact tens of millions of Americans."

  • Facebook holds emergency meeting

    Facebook reportedly held a company-wide meeting to discuss when and how the data was being illegally harvested.

  • #deletefacebook

    #deletefacebook
    WhatsApp co-founder, Brian Acton, called on his Twitter followers to delete Facebook with the hashtag #deletefacebook.

  • Zuckerberg apologises

    After three days of unsettling silence, Zuckerberg finally addressed the Cambridge Analytica incident in a post to his Facebook account. Later that day, he apologised in an interview with CNN.

  • Donald Trump brags about Cambridge Analytica

    In a Twitter post, Donald Trump appeared to boast about his effective social media campain in conjunction with Cambridge Analytica.

  • Elon Musk deletes SpaceX and Tesla Pages

    Clearly in response to Facebook's data scandal, Elon Musk removes the SpaceX and Tesla pages, which had a combined following of 5 million.

  • Zuckerberg is invited to testify

    The House Energy and Commerce Committee, caring for the public’s marketplace interests, formally called on Zuckerberg to testify in front of the House of Representatives.

  • British investigators raid Cambridge Analytica offices

    Officers from a British data watchdog group raided the offices of London-based Cambridge Analytica for nearly seven hours. The search warrant was granted to determine whether the data group tampered with the U.K.’s Brexit vote.

  • Zuckerberg publishes a full-page newspaper apology

    In full-page newspaper ads, Zuckerberg echoes previous statements quoting Facebooks' responsibility to protect information and the steps Facebook will take to prevent a reoccurence.

  • The Federal Trade Commission reveals a “non-public” investigation into Facebook

  • Stocks fall again

    Facebook stocks fall further, bringing the company's value to $439 billion. This is the company's lowest point since July 2017.

  • Zuckerberg will testify in the US, not in the UK

    While Zuckerberg agreed to testify before Congress, he has refused to explain the data scandal to British lawmakers.

  • Users affected is now 87 million

    Cambridge Analytica estimated 50 million were effected.

  • Facebook suspends two more firms for exploiting user data

    Canadian data firm AggregateIQ and data analytics company CubeYou, both linked to Cambridge Analytica, are removed from the platform.

  • Facebook notifies affected users

    Facebook began posting newsfeed alerts at the top of affected individuals' news feeds, including a link to apps which are currently accessing their data.

  • Cambridge Analytica used data from messages & posts

    Cambridge Analytica is revealed to have harvested the private messages of 1 500 people who granted #thisisyourdigitallife permission to do so.

  • Mark Zuckerberg testifies before US Congress

    Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been warned he has an obligation to the world to prevent the ‘American Dream’ of Facebook from turning into a privacy nightmare.

  • Facebook admits not reading terms of service

    Facebook admitted it neglected to read the terms and service of #thisisyourdigitallife, the app that improperly harvested and sold user data.