Cambridge Analytica shuts down in light of ‘unfairly negative’ press coverage – TechCrunch

Cambridge Analytica is done. In light of the sprawling controversy around its role in improperly obtaining data from Facebook users through a third party, the company will end its U.S. and U.K. operations.

In a press release confirming the decision, the company said that “unfairly negative media coverage” around the Facebook incident has “driven away virtually all of the Company’s customers and suppliers,” making its business no longer financially viable. The same goes for the SCL Elections, a CA-affiliated company:

Earlier today, SCL Elections Ltd., as well as certain of its and Cambridge Analytica LLC’s U.K. affiliates (collectively, the “Company” or “Cambridge Analytica”) filed applications to commence insolvency proceedings in the U.K.  The Company is immediately ceasing all operations…

Additionally, parallel bankruptcy proceedings will soon be commenced on behalf of Cambridge Analytica LLC and certain of the Company’s U.S. affiliates in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

On Wednesday, just before the company went public with its news, Gizmodo reported that employees of Cambridge Analytica’s U.S. offices learned that their jobs were being terminated when they were ordered to hand over their company keycards.

Given its already fairly shadowy business practices, it remains to be seen if this is really the end for Cambridge Analytica or just a strategic rebrand while it waits for the “siege” of negative media coverage to cool off.

Probably the latter, since the U.K.-based SCL Group, the mothership in the constellation of associated companies, is not going out of business. Nor are its many other ventures, including a new one, Emerdata, which several former CA leaders have recently moved to.