Yassine LACHHAB

Plan

▪ Introduction
▪ Big data and mass influence
▪ Case study : Cambridge Analytica Scandal
▪ Ethical aspects of CA & FB’s scandal
▪ Conclusion
Introduction
✓ The Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018
revealed how personal data of millions of
Facebook users was harvested without
their consent and used to influence
political campaign (Trump)

✓ This scandal has raised concerns about the

ethical implications of data mining and the
need for stronger regulations to protect
individuals' privacy

✓ This presentation will highlight how can

the use of data be a factor of political
sleaze by influencing the public opinion
during election illustrated with the
example of Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Big data & Mass influence
✓ The phrase "big data and mass influence"
refers to the power that large sets of data
can have in shaping and impacting various
aspects of society.

✓ Big data analytics allows for the

identification of patterns, trends, and
correlations that can be used to target
specific groups of individuals, shape
opinions, or influence behaviors.

✓ This can have significant implications in

fields such as marketing, politics, social
media, and more.
Case study : Cambrige Analytica & Facebook scandal
The very simple version of the story
✓ Facebook exposed data on up to 87
million Facebook users to a researcher
who worked at Cambridge Analytica,
which worked for the Trump
campaign.
How is the Trump campaign
connected to Cambridge Analytica ?
✓ Cambridge Analytica was created when Steve
Bannon approached conservative megadonors
Rebekah and Robert Mercer to fund a political
consulting firm.

✓ Bannon became vice president of Cambridge

Analytica, and during the 2016 election, he reached
out to the Trump campaign to introduce the two
sides.

✓ Bannon, of course, eventually became a senior

adviser to Trump before he was fired in August
2017.

✓ SCL is a public relations and messaging firm that has

clients all around the world.

✓ SCL has touted its expertise at ”psychological

warfare” and “influence operations.” It’s long
claimed that its sophisticated understanding of
human psychology helps it target and persuade
people of its clients’ preferred message.
This means, as the New York Times
writes, Cambridge Analytica is basically
a shell for the SCL Group.
How did Cambridge Analytica get its data?

✓ Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix reached out

to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange about the
emails that were hacked from the Democratic
National Committee’s servers, according to the Wall
Street journal

✓ The most important part of this story is how

Cambridge Analytica got its data from Facebook ?

✓ According to a former Cambridge Analytica

employee, the firm got it through the researcher
Aleksandr Kogan, a Russian American who worked at
the University of Cambridge.
How did Kogan use Facebook to
harvest up to 87 million user profiles ?

✓ Kogan built a Facebook app that was a quiz

called “This is my digital life”.

✓ It not only collected data from people who took

the quiz, it exposed also a loophole in Facebook
API that allowed it to collect data from the
Facebook friends of the quiz takers as well.

✓ Facebook prohibited the selling of data

collected with this method, but Cambridge
Analytica sold the data anyway.
 Modeling and Micro-targeting
✓ Research suggests Facebook “Likes” can be
used to predict personality, political
persuasion, age, gender, even sexual
orientation

✓ CA Combined “psychologic” and

“demographic” data to create statistical
models built on individual voter files using
proprietary algorithms to determine : Who to
contact ? How ? When ? And what to say ?

✓ Promoted Trump, denigrated Clinton and

sought to divide Americans on sensitive social
issues

✓ Many purchased by Russian troll farm based

in St. Petersburg though fake accounts
What happened later ?

03 03 03 03
17 18 19 20

The New York Times US Senators called on FB’s Chief of Security Cambridge University
and the Guardian’s FB Chief Executive Alex Stamos left FB in Psychology academic
observer exposed the Officer M.Z to testify the wake of internal Alexander Kogan
largest data breach in before the Congress clashes appears in CNN
the history of interview and he claims
Facebook to be used as scapegoat
by FB and Cambridge
Analytica
What happened later ?

03 03 04
21 25 10

Mark Zuckerberg Zuckerberg took out full Zuckerberg was

breaks his silence, and page advertisements in scheduled to appear
FB’s shares dropped British and American before a joint hearing of
more than 9%, losing newspapers to apologise the Senate Jurdiciary
60 billion $ of its Stock for the « Breach of and commerce
Market Value since the trust » committees
scandal was exposed
Ethical aspects of CA & FB’s scandal
Data Privacy Informed Consent
✓ Cambridge Analytica obtained personal data from ✓ Users were not adequately informed about
millions of Facebook users without their consent how their data would be used and by whom.
through an application.
✓ Lack of transparency and explicit consent
✓ It raised concerns about the misuse of personal violated ethical principles of informed
data and the lack of proper controls over data decision-making and autonomy.
protection.
Manipulation and Influence
✓ Cambridge Analytica used the data to create
targeted political advertisements and
messaging, potentially influencing voter
behavior without their knowledge. This
raised ethical concerns about manipulation in
democratic processes.
Ethical aspects of CA & FB’s scandal
Trust and Integrity Accountability
✓ The scandal damaged trust in data-driven ✓ There were questions about the
marketing practices, raising questions accountability of not just Cambridge
about the integrity of companies that Analytica, but also of platforms like
exploit user data for profit without Facebook which allowed the data
considering the consequences on breach to happen.
individuals and society
✓ Ethical considerations include
✓ Cambridge Analytica scandal highlighted responsibility, transparency, and fair
the need for stricter regulations around data treatment of users.
privacy and ethical guidelines for data
usage, particularly in the context of digital
marketing and political campaigns.
✓ It underlined the importance of
transparency, informed consent, and
accountability in handling personal data
responsibly.
Answers to ethical aspects
✓ Companies and governments have begun to take
steps to regulate data mining practices and
improve transparency and accountability

✓ Being transparent about their data collection and

use practices, and to obtain informed consent from
individuals before collecting and analyzing their
data

✓ Clear communication about why data is being

collected, how it will be used, and with whom it
will be shared

✓ The scandal highlighted the need for individuals

to be more aware of their digital footprint and the
ways in which their data is being used
Conclusion
✓ The Cambridge Analytica scandal
demonstrated the potential harm that can result
from unethical data mining practices

✓ The widespread collection and use of personal

data without consent not only infringes upon
individuals' privacy but also undermines the
fundamental principles of democracy by
allowing for the manipulation of public
opinion

✓ Individuals also have a role to play in

promoting ethical data mining practices by
being more aware of how their data is being
collected and used
Références
• Graphs used for the story :
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-
politics/2018/3/23/17151916/facebook-

Thank you
cambridge-analytica-trump-diagram

• Thriller of the documentary on Netflix :

https://youtu.be/8YO7dXNhFjc?si=zD-

☺
6oHuNS6BbXLxG

• Mark Zuckerburg in congress :

https://youtu.be/ncbb5B85sd0?si=m5GRO
vjd3r4BDpof

• Read more : Cambridge Analytica and Brexit