The firm behind the most widespread abuse of internet data, Cambridge Analytica, is going out of business, shutting its offices in Washington, London and New York as it faces rapidly mounting legal bills over its misuse of the Facebook profiles of some 87 million people. Its very name has become synonymous with this entire privacy scandal, much like Enron stood for corporate malfeasance and Union Carbide for corporate manslaughter. And even though it may be out of business, it serves as a watchword for anyone with any social media presence to be fully aware of the dangers of how data can be shared by app developers and others.
Later this month, a strict and wide-ranging data privacy regulation comes into effect across the European Union. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) firmly puts the onus on any company holding any information about anyone living in the 28-member bloc to make sure that it is held in trust, and that it is not shared or abused in any way. Because the law is so far-reaching, it means most companies simply can’t risk misusing anyone’s data lest they face fines of €20 million (Dh88 million) or 4 per cent of their annual global profits — whichever is higher.
It is a pity that Cambridge Analytica is gone and that it didn’t face the prospect of such heavy fines. Given the effect and penalties of GDPR, it is highly unlikely that any company will be willing to engage in similar activities. But GDPR does offer a blueprint that ought to be adopted by governments elsewhere if they are genuinely concerned about protective privacy. Let’s hope that happens.
