Embattled political research firm Cambridge Analytica is closing all of its operations with plans to file for bankruptcy in the U.S., it announced on Wednesday. The London-based company, which was hired by President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, was outed in March as having harvested personal data on millions of Facebook users, without their knowledge, for marketing and political purposes. In a statement on its website, the firm said it has been the subject of “numerous unfounded accusations” and “vilified for activities that are not only legal, but also widely accepted as a standard component of online advertising in both the political and commercial arenas.”The decision to close up shop followed rising legal fees and a loss of clients over the investigation into their work and use of Facebook data, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the situation. Shortly after the scandal broke, the firm announced an independent investigation into its practices. The results of that investigation, which were shared on the company’s website this week, stated that the allegations against the firm were not “borne out by the facts.”

Source: Huffington Post May 02, 2018 19:01 UTC