Facebook data scandal heats up

British lawmakers called on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Tuesday to testify about his company’s connection to the political analysis firm Cambridge Analytica. On Saturday, The Guardian reported how 50 million Facebook profiles were mined for data through an app called “thisisyourdigitallife.” The app then transferred the data over to Cambridge Analytica. The political firm based in London worked on Facebook campaign ads for President Donald Trump and Brexit, aided by the shared user data, according to The Guardian. Damian Collins, a member of Parliament, sent a letter to Zuckerberg on Tuesday requesting he appear before the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee and give an account of the data harvesting. “The Committee has repeatedly asked Facebook about how companies acquire and hold on to user data from their site, and in particular about whether data had been taken without their consent,” Collins wrote. “Your officials’ answers have consistently understated this risk and have been misleading to the Committee.” He gave Zuckerberg until Monday to respond. Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers have questions for Facebook, as well. “It’s time for Mr. Zuckerberg and the other CEOs to testify before Congress,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., tweeted Tuesday. “The American people deserve answers about social media manipulation in the 2016 election.”