Cambridge Analytica Shuts Down Following Facebook Privacy Scandal

The Cambridge Analytica scandal was a doozy for the tech industry, with Facebook getting the brunt of the criticisms of the incident. However, while the social network seems to have just shrugged the issue off, the British data analytics firm just announced that it was shutting down. It’s now closing its offices in the UK and is insolvent.

According to a press release, the firm is filing bankruptcy because it lost pretty much all of its customers and suppliers. While Cambridge Analytica has denied that it did anything wrong, the matter still cost it everything.

"Over the past several months, Cambridge Analytica has been the subject of numerous unfounded accusations and, despite the company’s efforts to correct the record, 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 company notes in the statement. "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."

Aside from the main offices of the firm in the UK, it seems this decision also affects the US company SCL Defense, The Wall Street Journal reports. It is also closing now along with Cambridge Analytica the founder of SCL Group, Nigel Oakes confirmed to the publication.

In the wake of the attention that the inquisition against Facebook, it can often be difficult to remember that there are other parties involved in this situation. These parties also suffer the consequences of using the stolen data of over 87 million users to help get Donald Trump get elected president.

So far, only the analytics firm seems to have suffered actual financial and concrete consequences over the situation. With Facebook recently holding its F8 conference, featuring a smiling Mark Zuckerberg striding onstage, it seems the social network is not even giving the matter any thought.