Cambridge Analytica suspended head to appear at UK committee

British lawmakers investigating the use of Facebook users' data in political campaigns said Thursday that the suspended head of the now-defunct consultancy Cambridge Analytica has accepted a summons to appear before a committee.

Parliament's media committee said Alexander Nix had accepted a summons to appear June 6. He had refused to appear before the last month, citing the ongoing investigation into the firm.

Separately, it was announced that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will meet with leaders of the European Parliament in a closed-door meeting next Tuesday about the data protection scandal that has engulfed his company.

Even though his visit had been announced, it was left unclear exactly when Zuckerberg would visit the European Union's legislature.

The EU and British parliaments have been calling for Zuckerberg to appear before them for weeks ever since it emerged that Cambridge Analytica had been allowed to misuse the data of millions of Facebook users.

The EU meeting however is set to be private with the leaders of the political groups and a justice and civil rights expert. Many in the European Parliament had been calling for a public hearing.

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Citation: Cambridge Analytica suspended head to appear at UK committee (2018, May 17) retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2018-05-cambridge-analytica-uk-committee.html
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UK lawmakers summon ex-Cambridge Analytica chief to testify

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