Cambridge Analytica shutting down following Facebook crisis

The Cambridge Analytica consultancy at the center of this year’s Facebook privacy row is closing, the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported the founder of the firm’s UK-based parent as saying.

SCL Group founder Nigel Oakes confirmed that both companies were closing, the WSJ said.

The newspaper added, citing an unnamed source, that the decision was taken because the companies were losing clients and facing mounting legal fees in the Facebook investigation.

The firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The row over the improper use of data on 87 million Facebook users by Cambridge Analytica in President Donald Trump’s 2016 U.S. election campaign, has hurt the shares of the world’s biggest social network and prompted multiple official investigations.