Govt asks Cambridge Analytica if it used Indian users’ data -Governance Now

Govt asks Cambridge Analytica if it used Indian users’ data

The UK based firm has been asked to disclose name of entities with whom they have engaged in India

GN Bureau | March 24, 2018

#Mark Zuckerberg #privacy #data #Facebook #Cambridge Analytica #Meity #Ravi Shankar Prasad

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook

The ministry of electronics and information technology (MEITY) has issued notice to Cambridge Analytica seeking its response on its alleged exploitation of Indian Facebook users data. The ministry has sought reply from the British political consulting firm by March 31.

“The ministry has issued a notice, in the first instance, to Cambridge Analytica, wherein the serious breach of propriety and misuse of data intended to profile and influence voting behaviour has been highlighted,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Reference has also been made to several accounts in the media reporting incidents of gross abuse of social media platform to influence the sanctity of polling process. Note has also been taken of alleged claims whereby elections in India were sought to be influenced through questionable means,” the ministry said.

On March 17, foreign media reported that Cambridge Analytica illegally collected and harvested data of 50 million Facebook users for profiling and micro-targeting intended to influence voter behaviour. The Indian media has reported that Cambridge Analytica’s Indian associate Ovleno Business Intelligence (OBI), headed by Anish Tyagi, son of JD(U) leader KC Tyagi, has managed elections for the BJP and the Congress. The OBI portal mentions Congress and the BJP as its clients.

It is interesting to note that the ministry hasn't issued notice to Facebook. In fact, it cited its founder Mark Zuckerberg’s apology in the ongoing data breach controversy. “In this regard it is pertinent to observe that the CEO of Facebook, Mr. Mark Zuckerberg has apologised for the mistakes his company had made in handling data belonging to its users, and has promised tougher steps to restrict access to such information,” the ministry said.

There are other downstream players such as Cambridge Analytica and its alleged associates who have been reported to be involved in the data breach, it said.

“In particular, all intermediaries and their associates have the legal obligation to maintain security, confidentiality and sanctity of data and any unauthorized use of data can entail legal action,” the ministry said.

In its notice to Cambridge Analytica, the ministry sought responses to the following questions:

Whether they have been engaged in any assignment to utilize data of Indians from the above cited breach?
Who are the entities that have engaged them for the above?
How did they come to be in possession of such data?
Was consent taken from the individuals?
How such data collected was used?
Was there any profiling done on the basis of such data?

Comments

Other News

Uday Kotak on history, Indian economy, growth and more

Pathbreakers: How 10 Visionary Leaders Transformed India by award-winning journalists By Sucheta Dalal and Debashis Basu Rupa Publications, 304 pages, Rs 695

₹5,000 crore saved from suspected financial fraud

In a significant gain for citizen protection in the digital economy, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has helped prevent suspected cyber fraud losses of more than ₹5,000 crore through its Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) within fifteen months of its launch on May 22, 2025. This money did

Capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 1.10 lakh crore for defence forces cleared

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, on Monday accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), that is, in-principle administrative approval to various acquisition proposals of the defence forces at an estimated cost of about Rs 1,10,000 crore.

How Rafi, Raj Kapoor helped pave the way for a great uranium deal

There`s a certain moment in diplomacy that`s too personal to be captured in a communiqué, too small to make the front page, but more revealing than the front page. This week, prime minister Narendra Modi reached Tashkent and, amid the pomp of state visits, managed to evoke the old Bollywood tunes

Distinguishing Fish 1 and Fish 2: The pragmatism behind India’s WTO ratification

India became the 123rd WTO member to ratify the multilateral Agreement on Fisheries subsidies (AoFS) when it deposited the Instrument of Acceptance for Phase 1 on July 20, 2026. The ratification is restricted to disciplining Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU), protection for overfished

The 7% growth problem: Why the next 7% will be harder

India has become accustomed to hearing the 7% growth number. It is now less a milestone than an expectation. Yet the paradox is becoming clearer: maintaining 7% growth may be considerably harder than achieving it once. India’s real GDP grew 7.7% in FY2025–26, following growth of 6.5% in FY202