Facebook Reaches Settlement Over Cambridge Analytica Case In UK

U.S. social media behemoth Facebook, Inc. FB has agreed to pay a $646,000 fine over the Cambridge Analytica scandal to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Guardian reported.

What Happened

The ICO launched an investigation against Facebook and the now defunct London-based political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica in 2017 on whether the personal data of British citizens was compromised for political campaigns.

In October 2018, the U.K. public body slapped Facebook with a £500,00 fine ($646,000, as of today’s price), the maximum allowed under the British law at the time (pre-GDPR).

Facebook appealed against the order in the First Tier Tribunal in the country.

In an interesting turn of events, the Tribunal ruled that the ICO should release documents related to its investigation. The agency filed an appeal against this ruling in September, 2019.

What's Next

Facebook agreed to pay the fine, but hasn’t admitted any liability in the Cambridge Analytica incident, on its part.

Both Facebook and ICO are dropping their respective appeals as part of this settlement.

The social media company also gets to retain documents filed in the court by the ICO, for “other purposes,” including any investigation it’s personally conducting in the incident, the data watchdog said in a statement.

The fine paid by Facebook will go to the U.K. Treasury's consolidated fund, it said.

"The ICO’s main concern was that UK citizen data was exposed to a serious risk of harm,” James Dipple-Johnstone, ICO’s deputy-commissioner said. “We are pleased to hear that Facebook has taken, and will continue to [take significant] steps to comply with the fundamental principles of data protection.

"[We] expect that Facebook will be able to move forward and learn from the events of this case,” he added.