MALAYSIA has found itself caught in the controversy surrounding UK-based data analytics and political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica (CA), which has been banned by Facebook for using information collected from the social media site’s users.

While international focus is on CA’s involvement in US President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and data violations involving Facebook, Malaysia is seeing its own furore over CA’s work for the ruling Barisan Nasional in the 2013 general election.

The local controversy centres on the possibility that BN may have used a firm involved in stealing people’s data, and whose now-suspended CEO Alexander Nix has been caught on tape by undercover reporters admitting to the use of unethical practices in electioneering.

Now, it also involves a Pakatan Harapan leader, Mukhriz Mahathir, who had been with BN in 2013 and was the ruling coalition’s elections director in Kedah, which BN won and where he became menteri besar after the polls.

Mukhriz has denied any links with CA, which lists its work for Kedah BN for GE13 on its website.

BN has also denied employing the firm, and said it has confirmation that Mukhriz had used its services.

The New York Times and The Guardian last weekend exposed how the data firm used information belonging to more than 50 million Facebook users without their knowledge in Trump’s presidential campaign.

Last week, Facebook banned CA for failing to destroy user data collected by an app for research purposes. Facebook has denied that a data breach had taken place.

What exactly happened, and who was involved? How did Malaysia get caught in the controversy? Here is what we know so far:

1. What is CA?

It is a firm that uses data enhancement and audience segmentation techniques to analyse target audiences. It claims to be able to use personality data, sourced from online surveys, to predict the needs of subjects and how these needs can change over time.

CA updates the data through monthly surveys on political preferences, consumer topics, and how people source for information that helps them make decisions. The information builds up an image that tells how a person shops and votes.

CA’s services can benefit clients ranging from political entities and governments to companies, by providing analyses of audiences’ behaviours and how to design campaigns to influence them.

2. Who is behind CA?

The firm was formed in 2013 as a branch of Strategic Communication Laboratories Group (SCL). Several SCL directors are also on the CA board.

The main people in CA are founder and chief executive Nix, 42, who joined SCL in 2003, and Mark Turnbull, the managing director of CA Political Global.

Nix was responsible for bringing CA into the politics business. Turnbull has 30 years of experience as a communications consultant for companies, political leaders, governments and government-linked companies around the world.

Nix was suspended as CEO yesterday.

CA’s website said the firm has offices in London, New York, Washington DC, Brazil and Malaysia.

Its presence in Malaysia has raised questions, as the address of its “office” is actually a private home where the occupants, who have been living there for four years, have no knowledge of the company.

3. What are the charges against CA?

The firm is accused of using data collected from Facebook without permission in early 2014 to develop a software to predict and influence voters by sending targeted campaign messages.

Data from more than 50 million Facebook users was collected through the personality test application “thisisyourdigitallife”, developed by third-party researcher Aleksandr Kogan of the company Global Science Research (GSR).

The act, a violation of Facebook’s terms, was exposed by former CA staff Christopher Wylie, who claimed that the firm is a propaganda warfare tool.

CA has denied the claim, stressing that it did not harvest Facebook users’ data and used it in the Trump campaign. It also claimed to have followed all of Facebook’s terms, and deleted the data obtained by GSR.

4. How did CA get involved in the Trump campaign?

The Guardian reported that US hedge-fund billionaire and Republican donor Robert Mercer was CA’s investor. He gave CA US$15 million (RM59 million), and also funded “alt-right” news network Breitbart, ran by Steve Bannon, who became Trump’s chief strategist in the last phase of the presidential campaign.

During this last phase, the Trump campaign used CA’s services and paid more than US$6.2 million, according to Federal Election Commission records.

CA also said on its website that it provided the Trump campaign “with the expertise and insights that helped win the White House”.

5. Who else hired CA?

The firm has also worked on election campaigns in other countries, including Indonesia, India, Kenya, Mexico and Malaysia.

Turnbull revealed that work was done in Malaysia to an undercover Channel 4 reporter.

On its website, CA said it “supported BN in Kedah state with a targeted messaging campaign highlighting their school improvements since 2008”.

BN took back Kedah from the opposition in GE13, winning 21 state seats out of 36, and 10 parliamentary seats out of 15.

CA has also been linked to the 2016 Brexit campaign, although Nix has denied this.

6. What is the Malaysian reaction?

After it was reported that Malaysia is listed as a case study on CA’s website, and Turnbull’s revelation that the firm had worked in Malaysia, PH leaders now want the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and police to investigate CA and its parent company, SCL, over claims that it was involved in Malaysian elections.

They also want Prime Minister Najib Razak, as BN chairman, to explain CA’s involvement as election campaign consultant.

Last night, BN, in a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, denied hiring CA, but said the firm has confirmed that it provided advice to Mukhriz on GE13 when he was with the ruling coalition.

Mukhriz has denied any knowledge of CA’s work for the state BN, calling the PMO statement untrue and a distraction from BN’s unethical tactics.

Mukhriz would only confirm that SCL Southeast Asia representative Azrin Zizal had worked for him, but only as his media officer, from 2009 to 2013, while Mukhriz was deputy international trade and industry minister.

Azrin no longer worked for him after he became Kedah menteri besar.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, who had been the BN elections direction in 2013, also said he has no knowledge of CA. He said Najib has a habit of “doing things by himself”.

The National Patriots Association, a group of retired officers from the Malaysian Armed Forces and Royal Malaysia Police, likened CA’s mining of personal data to espionage, and urged Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to clarify the firm’s involvement in Malaysia.

7. What has Facebook done?

Facebook has suspended CA and several individuals from using its site. The social media giant has denied that a data breach had taken place.

It said Kogan’s “thisisyourdigitallife” app collected Facebook data in a “legitimate way”, but terms were violated when the data was shared with CA.

Facebook said it discovered the matter in 2015, and shut down the app.

It said it also told the parties involved to delete the data taken from Facebook.

8. What is the impact on Facebook?

The Financial Times reported that Facebook shares saw their worst plunge in four years on Monday, resulting in losses of up to US$36.7 billion, following the CA controversy.

Its shares fell nearly 5% yesterday, after dropping 8% a day earlier.

US lawmakers are calling on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to testify before Congress on Capitol Hill, to explain how CA ended up with the data.

Across the Atlantic, British MPs are summoning Zuckerberg to give evidence to the digital, culture, media and sports committee, following revelations on the use of its data by CA.

The committee investigating fake news has accused Facebook of misleading panel members at a previous hearing on how the company acquires and keeps user data from its site, and whether data has been obtained without users’ consent. – March 21, 2018.

* Sources: The Guardian, The New York Times, Reuters, Tech Crunch, Financial Times