Facebook data could be stored in Russia, says whistle-blower

FB SCANDAL A ‘GAME CHANGER’ IN DATA REGULATION

WASHINGTON: Some of the information improperly harvested from Facebook Inc. users might be stored in Russia, said the former employee of Cambridge Analytica who blew the whistle on the data-privacy scandal involving the analytics firm’s role in the 2016 presidential election.

The data “could be stored in various parts of the world, including Russia,” Christoper Wylie said in an interview with NBC’S “The professor who was managing the data harvesting process was going back and forth between the UK and Russia,” Wylie said, an apparent reference to Cambridge University lecturer Aleksandr Kogan.

Wylie said it was difficult to verify how many people had access to the Facebook information or derivatives of that data “because it was a lot of people,” according to a partial transcript released by the network.

The number of Facebook profiles whose data was improperly shared with London-based Cambridge Analytica was first estimated at 50 million people. This week, Facebook raised that estimate to 87 million. Wylie said the true figure “could be higher, absolutely.”

“Once data leaves your database, you know, data is a fungible thing, right?” he said. “You can make as many copies as possible.”

Facebook founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg is preparing to testify before Congressional panels investigating the mishandling of its data and other revelations about the social-media giant. BRUSSELS: Revelations that data belonging to as many 87 million Facebook Inc. users and their friends may have been misused became a game changer in the world of data protection as regulators are looking to raise awareness about how to protect information.

Elizabeth Denham, the UK privacy regulator leading the European investigations into how user data ended up in the hands of consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, will say in a speech Monday that the technology industry and regulators must improve the public’s trust and confidence in how their private information is handled.

Zuckerberg is scheduled to appear before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committee on Tuesday to discuss Facebook’s role in society and users’ privacy. He’ll back up Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Cambridge Analytica was funded by former Renaissance Technologies CO-CEO Robert Mercer, a major supporter of President Donald Trump in 2016.