CBI initiates preliminary enquiry against Cambridge Analytica, GSR in Facebook data theft

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday initiated a preliminary enquiry to look into the alleged data theft of Indians from Facebook by British firms Cambridge Analytica and Global Science Research.

After receiving a reference in this regard from the Centre, the CBI has initiated the preliminary enquiry which is normally the first step to decide whether the allegations deserve a full-blown investigation through an FIR or not, officials said.

Facebook came under fire after it was revealed that the personal data of millions of users of the website fell into the hands of a political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica that worked for US President Donald Trump's campaign.

Union Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had told Rajya Sabha last month that the probe will be handed over to the CBI. He had said there were also reports that user data was "illegally accessed by hardware manufacturers who had tie-ups with Facebook. In regard to this issue, Facebook has reported that they are not aware of any misuse of information, including Indian users' information".

A former employee of Cambridge Analytica, Christopher Wylie, had accused Cambridge Analytica of gathering the details of Facebook through a personality quiz in 2014. He had alleged that because 270,000 people took the quiz, the data of some 50 million users, mainly in the US, was harvested without their explicit consent via their friend networks.

However, on April 5, the social media giant had revealed that the data of as many as 87 million users was improperly shared with British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, far greater than the 50 million previously estimated.

Denying all allegations, Cambridge Analytica, however, maintained that none of the data acquired was used as part of the services it provided to the Trump campaign.

(With inputs from agencies)