Advertisement

Cambridge Analytica files for bankruptcy in U.S. court

By Susan McFarland
British data firm Cambridge Analytica filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Thursday in a New York court. File Photo by Andy Rain/EPA-EFE
British data firm Cambridge Analytica filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Thursday in a New York court. File Photo by Andy Rain/EPA-EFE

May 18 (UPI) -- The British firm that obtained user data from Facebook and worked on President Donald Trump's 2016 electoral campaign filed for bankruptcy in the United States Thursday.

Cambridge Analytica submitted its bankruptcy petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. Its filing listed liabilities worth as much as $10 million.

Advertisement

The political consulting firm announced earlier this month it's shutting down following accusations it improperly accessed data from as many as 87 million Facebook users.

Earlier this month, Cambridge Analytica and affiliate SCL Elections filed insolvency proceedings in Britain.

Cambridge said a "siege of media coverage" over the scandal has driven away customers and made business unsustainable. It said the reports about how it obtained and used the Facebook data were unfounded.

"Despite the company's precarious financial condition, Cambridge Analytica intends to fully meet its obligations to its employees, including with respect to notice periods, severance terms, and redundancy entitlements," the company said in a statement.

Last month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg answered questions in the U.S. Senate about Cambridge's access to the user data. In his testimony, he apologized for the scandal and vowed Facebook will handle privacy matters more effectively.

Advertisement

Facebook has since taken multiple steps to guard user data.

Latest Headlines