Cambridge Analytica, the data firm behind Facebook's privacy scandal, has filed for bankruptcy as the business enters proceedings to shut down.
A statement from the company explained that the decision was a result of "numerous unfounded accusations", adding that it had been "vilified" as a result of the role in played in the social media scandal.
"Despite the company’s efforts to correct the record, it has been 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 statement said.
Cambridge Analytica, the “full-service propaganda machine”, harvested up to 87m Facebook user profiles to influence the US election.
Its actions were exposed by whisteblower and former employee Christopher Wylie who exposed the analytics firm to be a ‘psychological warfare weapon’ and its role in the 2016 US election.
The Cambridge Analytica team consisted of data scientists, psychologists, photographers, videographers, creatives and experts in media planning who were tasked with finding the right messaging, frequency and placements to drive a change in voter consideration.
Despite Cambridge Analytica’s "unwavering confidence" that its employees acted ethically and lawfully, the company said the siege of media coverage has driven away virtually all of its customers and suppliers.
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 but to place it into administration.
Facebook has continued to be burned by the scandal, as user trust plummets in its wake.
Although Facebook’s global chief executive Mark Zuckerberg came out of a recent US congressional hearing into data privacy relatively unscathed, the larger problem remains – how to win back the trust of Facebook’s 2.25 billion users.
Despite the Cambridge Analytica's precarious financial condition, it has stated that it intends to fully meet its obligations to its employees, including with respect to notice periods, severance terms, and redundancy entitlements.
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