Trump-Linked Data Firm Cambridge Analytica Shuts Down After Facebook Data Scandal

Cambridge Analytica, the data firm tied to the Trump campaign, announced Wednesday that it is shutting down after scandals over its tactics and use of Facebook data, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The company said in a news release it had “filed applications to commence insolvency proceedings in the UK” and was “immediately ceasing all operations.”

According to the Journal, the data firm had been losing clients and facing legal fees since it was revealed in March that it had misused data on 87 million Facebook users.

Gizmodo had reported earlier on Wednesday that the company was telling employees that it would be shutting down its U.S. offices.

“While this decision was extremely painful for Cambridge Analytica’s leaders, they recognize that it is all the more difficult for the Company’s dedicated employees who learned today that they likely would be losing their jobs as a result of the damage caused to the business by the unfairly negative media coverage,” Cambridge Analyica said in its statement.

“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 Hill added:

The data scandal touched off a furor that pushed Facebook into the sights of regulators around the world and unraveled Cambridge Analytica.

Alexander Nix, the firm’s CEO, was suspended in March after a British broadcaster aired hidden camera footage of him saying that the company blackmails political clients’ rivals.

Cambridge Analytica was founded in 2013 by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and Robert Mercer, a hedge fund billionaire and GOP mega-donor.