LONDON – Cambridge Analytica, the firm at the centre of a political firestorm following Facebook data breach scandal, announced shutdown but, some reports say, it will continue business under a different name.
Citing official documents, the media claimed that a firm named ‘Emerdata’ was set up last year with the same registered address and the same directors of the Cambridge Analytica.
The SCL Group executives have set up a new company named as ‘Emerdata’ over the past few months, says New York Times report.
The UK-based consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica and its parent company SCL Elections announced that they are ceasing all their operations, as its employees acted ethically and lawfully, but the firm was ‘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’.
“As a result, it has been determined that it is no longer viable to continue operating the business, which left Cambridge Analytica with no realistic alternative to placing the company into administration,” the statement read.
Emerdata is funded by Robert Mercer, an investor in Cambridge Analytica and his two daughters Rebekah and Jennifer Mercer, have also joined Emerdata as company directors.
According to legal records in the UK, Emerdata Its headquarters in London is in the same building as Cambridge Analytica and Alexander Tayler, Cambridge Analytica’s acting CEO who took over from Alexander Nix, is listed as Emerdata’s director.
The new company’s directors also include Johnson Ko Chun Shun, a Hong Kong financier and business partner of Erik Prince. Prince founded the private security firm Blackwater, which was renamed Xe Services after Blackwater contractors were convicted of killing Iraqi civilians.
The Cambridge Analytica data breach fiasco prompted concerns in Facebook after it was revealed that the date of 87 million Americans was hacked – Mark Zuckerberg was among the victims.
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The Tech-genius also testified for long-hours before Senate, where he answered multiple queries and admitted that it was his mistake.
The data breach relates to helping Donald Trump in devising presidential campaign through bespoke political ads to convince voters, pave way for the tycoon to enter Oval Office.
