By SK.Vyas
New Delhi, 22 Jan 2021: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against two UK based firms under Section 120(B) of IPC, 66B, 85, 43(a) read with 66 of IT Act 2000. Earlier, a preliminary inquiry was conducted by CBI based on a complaint from the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology(GoI). It was revealed in the inquiry that the founder & Director of the first UK-based company had allegedly created an app “this is your digital life” and this app was authorized to collect specific data of its users in Facebook (FB) as per their platform policy. It was alleged that the app illegally harvested additional data of FB users and of their friends on FB. It was further alleged that 335 Indians had installed the app and data of approximately 5.62 lakh FB friends of these users was unauthorizly harvested by the app without their consent. It was also alleged that the said company entered into a conspiracy with a second UK-based company during 2014 and gave the right to use this illegally harvested data to a second company for commercial purposes.
Names of the accused:
i) M/s Global Science Research Limited, the UK represented by
Dr.Aleksandr Kogan
ii) M/s Cambridge Analytica, the UK represented by Alexander Nix
(Please see details of the case in FIR NO. RC2212021E0001 dated
19.01.2021 available on CBI Website at EO-III, New Delhi)
The investigation is continuing.