The boss of SCL Group has refuted suggestions that Cambridge Analytica will relaunch under the Emerdata brand, insisting that both companies have been placed into administration and that “it is the end of the show”, following the Facebook data scandal.
Nigel Oakes has confirmed the decision to shut down Cambridge Analytica, SCL Elections UK and Emerdata – whose directors include several top Cambridge Analytica chiefs – but has not revealed what will happen to the companies’ data assets.
Oakes, who founded SCL Group, told Bloomberg: “It’s the end of the show. The whole lot is gone. There’s no secret. For anything like this to recreate itself you need a team of people to work together but nobody is working together. Everybody has gone off to do their own things.”
Oakes said the original idea when Emerdata was founded last year was to acquire Cambridge Analytica and SCL Elections to put them under one roof.
Earlier this week, the Information Commissioner’s Office revealed it has issued an Enforcement Notice against SCL Elections UK, which could have huge consequences for other UK firms and pave the way for hundreds of millions of Americans to use the UK legal system to access personal information which is held on them in Britain.
The move followed a subject access request from a US academic, Professor David Carroll, which the ICO argues has not been fulfilled.
Related stories
UK firms could face millions of data requests from US
ICO vows to pursue chiefs as Cambridge Analytica folds
Top law firm sets up Facebook UK compensation scheme
Facebook admits over a million Brits hit by data scandal
DMA demands answers over threat to third-party data
Acxiom faces $25m hit from loss of Facebook data deal
Facebook tears up data deals with Acxiom and Experian
Cambridge Analytica chief steps down from DMA role
ICO applies for warrant as Facebook scandal escalates
Cambridge Analytica row ‘lets genie out of the bottle’