Facebook–Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal

Facebook Analytica Scandal Your Name Subject and SectionProfessor’s Name November 17, 2024 1 Critically Analyze the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica Scandal The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal is perhaps one of the most well-known and recent scandals in the corporate world. Accordingly, it relates to a significant ethical and regulatory concern in the handling and utilizing of personal data. At the center of it was harvesting data from millions of Facebook users and its subsequent sale to CA to assist in psychographic profiling and targeted political marketing (Graham-Harrison & Cadwalladr, 2021). This misconduct occurred in vote-affected elections like the 2016 U.S. Presidential duel and the Brexit vote. While the firm updated its data access policy the following year, 2014, it could not protect the users who had already stolen data, further highlighting apparent problems with its corporate governance (Brown, 2020). Moreover, by either not investigating incidents using forensic accountants or using self-reporting techniques to crack down on misuse and without conducting follow-ups, Facebook lengthened the ordeal for years, making the scandal worse. This case illustrates one of the most fundamental conflicts – between business incentives and technology firms' social and moral obligations to safeguard users' information. 2 Discuss the Impact of the Scandal on Facebook The effects of this crisis include a reputational crisis, the company's revenue decline, and an increased pressure to accountability from regulators. Public trust in Facebook eroded significantly, as evidenced by the global #DeleteFacebook movement and surveys showing declining confidence in the company's leadership (Brown, 2020). Financially, Facebook experienced a sharp decline in its market value, losing over $70 billion within days of the scandal breaking (Graham-Harrison & Cadwalladr, 2021). The problem with using the social networks mentioned earlier was that the key clients, advertisers, avoided connecting it with the platform, which led to the disturbance of the latter's stability. On a regulatory level, investigations were initiated in multiple jurisdictions, including inquiries by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the UK Infor...