Cambridge Analytica's acting CEO returns to former position
Just weeks after taking the helm of the controversial data firm that allegedly scraped people's Facebook data, Alexander Tayler goes back to his previous position as chief data officer.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before US legislators over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The acting CEO of Cambridge Analytica is no longer. The company's board of directors announced Wednesday that Alexander Tayler will be stepping down from his CEO position and will return to being the company's chief data officer. He only held the position for one month.
This is "in order to focus on the various technical investigations and inquiries," Cambridge Analytica's board said in a statement. "We would like to thank Dr Tayler for his service in what has been a challenging time for the company."
Data firm Cambridge Analytica has been the focal point of a massive scandal involving the release of Facebook users' data. Facebook said Cambridge Analytica, which had ties to Trump's presidential campaign, accessed ill-gotten information from up to 87 million Facebook accounts without user permission. Cambridge Analytica has denied these allegations.
Facebook first found out about Cambridge Analytica's infractions three years ago and demanded the company destroy the data. The social network said it received legal certifications the information was deleted, but there have been allegations the data is still out there. Facebook didn't disclose the situation until a whistleblower named Christopher Wylie, a former Cambridge Analytica employee, leaked the story to The New York Times and the UK's Guardian and Observer.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is currently testifying before legislators in Washington, DC, over how Cambridge Analytica was able to get its hands on so many users' data reportedly without permission.
It's unclear who will now take over as Cambridge Analytica's new CEO.
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