The 2016 Brexit referendum in the UK may have been influenced by the misuse of personal data, according to a series of investigations. Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm, allegedly used harvested Facebook data to target voters with personalised political advertisements, potentially swaying the vote. Robert Mercer, a US billionaire with close ties to Donald Trump and Steve Bannon, owns the company.
Cambridge Analytica is part of a larger network of companies under Mercer’s control, including AggregateIQ, which also played a significant role in the Brexit campaign. AggregateIQ received the majority of Vote Leave’s campaign budget, raising questions about the legality of the campaign’s spending.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is investigating the misuse of personal data in political campaigns. The ICO’s inquiry includes both Cambridge Analytica and AggregateIQ. The investigation is also examining the role of University of Cambridge’s Psychometrics Centre in the data scandal.
The allegations suggest a web of connections between US and UK politics, with data being used to manipulate democratic processes. The implications of such practices are far-reaching, potentially undermining trust in democracy and political institutions.
Go to source article: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great-british-brexit-robbery-hijacked-democracy