Although the majority of users affected by the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal were from the US, other countries are also learning about the extent of data gathering. Users in India was also reportedly affected with the official number now being pegged at just over 5.6 lakh accounts.
According to a tweet from former NDTV Managing Editor and current Washington Post Contributing Editor, Barkha Dutt, a Facebook spokesperson has officially confirmed that the personal data of almost 6 lakh Indian users of Facebook might have been accessed by Cambridge Analytica, thanks to the now-infamous quiz app from Kogan Mobile called ‘This is Your Digital Life’.
Breaking : @Facebook submits official response on #CambridgeAnalytica to the Government of India. An FB spokesperson confirmed to me that 335 Indians downloaded the Kogan APP – 'This Is Your Digital Life'- which potentially enabled CA to access data of 562,455 Indians .
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) April 5, 2018
Facebook will notify users in India whose accounts were affected by the scraping, just like it has done in the US for some users.
Also breaking: in its reply to Government of India @facebook says those who data scraped by #CambridgeAnalytica in India which it calls "rogue actor & real culprit"; will be informed by Facebook in their profile/newsfeed. ( like elsewhere in world ;87 million impacted)
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) April 5, 2018
As has been widely reported already, the quiz was administered on Facebook by a company called Global Science Research (GSR), which was run by the notorious psychology researcher at the University of Cambridge, Dr. Aleksandr Kogan.
More details on @facebook response to Govt says Kogan app ( that enabled #CambridgeAnalytica breach) was active on FB from Nov 2013 to Dec 2015. Asks Govt @rsprasad to reach out to UK regulator directly to probe HOW CA may have used the data- as CA became rogue data controller
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) April 5, 2018
It’s not immediately known what Cambridge Analytica did with all the data scraped from Indian users, but the practice is thought to have continued until December 2015, when Facebook suspended Kogan from its platform for selling user-data without permission.
Additionally, Facebook has advised the government to pull up Cambridge Analytica about the data scraping:
As @facebook details privacy measures in reply to GOI – better signposting of consent & importantly also election integrity efforts, its reply urges govt to prevail upon #CambridgeAnalytica ( still to reply to India's notice) to explain stolen data use & contact UK regulators
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) April 5, 2018
The Indian government is yet to release an official statement about Facebook’s findings for users in India. It’s likely the Cambridge Analytica’s Indian subsidiaries and partners may be investigated, given that the government had said it would come down hard on any data scraping for political purposes.
