META Meta Platforms Inc

By Sam Schechner 

U.K. officials are seeking a warrant to search the offices and computer systems of Cambridge Analytica, a political-data firm accused of illicitly harvesting and stockpiling data on millions of Facebook Inc. users.

The U.K.'s investigation--which could lead to criminal charges and fines--underscores the high stakes for Facebook, which has become one of the world's largest companies by gathering data on individuals and using it to target advertising.

Facebook's stock fell nearly 7% Monday, after the company said it was investigating reports that Cambridge Analytica has been stockpiling personal information--sparking calls for more regulation on both sides of the Atlantic.

The U.K.'s top privacy enforcer, the Information Commissioner's Office, said late Monday that it had demanded Facebook suspend its own audit of Cambridge Analytica, arguing that this risked compromising the official investigation.

Facebook said its digital forensics firm Stroz Friedberg--which had been at Cambridge Analytica's office on Monday evening to do a "comprehensive audit"--stood down at the request of the U.K.'s privacy regulator.

At issue is whether Cambridge Analytica, which helped the Trump campaign in 2016, collected and used data from the accounts of millions of users obtained through a Facebook app without appropriate permissions--and whether Facebook was too lax in protecting that information and ensuring it was deleted.

Facebook said Friday it had suspended Cambridge Analytica to investigate reports that the data firm kept user records after promising in 2015 to delete them.

Cambridge Analytica said Tuesday that it had "been fully compliant and proactive in our conversations" with the U.K.'s privacy regulator and that it had offered access to its office "subject to our agreeing the scope of the inspection."

The allegations connect two major complaints against Facebook--that it collects too much information about its users and that it is easily manipulated by bad actors like hackers, terrorists or political operatives. The scandal spurred calls from politicians in Europe and the U.S. on Monday for new regulations and probes.

On Tuesday, Damian Collins, the British lawmaker who chairs a parliamentary committee on media and culture, invited Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify "to give an accurate account of this catastrophic failure of process," according to a public copy of the invitation letter.

"We have repeatedly asked Facebook about how companies acquire and hold on to user data from their site and in particular whether data had been taken from people without their consent," Mr. Collins said in a statement published Sunday. "Their answers have consistently understated this risk and have also been misleading to the committee."

Mr. Collins also said Sunday that Alexander Nix, chief executive of Cambridge Analytica, seemed to have deliberately misled lawmakers in a recent parliamentary committee hearing. He said he was requesting Mr. Nix answer further questions about how Cambridge Analytica used Facebook data.

Mr. Nix, in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. out Monday, denied that he misled U.K. lawmakers.

EuSHYrope's naSHYtional data-proSHYtecSHYtion auSHYthorSHYiSHYties are gathSHYerSHYing in BrusSHYsels on TuesSHYday to disSHYcuss the case. Under European Union law, the U.K.'s privacy regulator is likely to take the lead in European investigations, because Cambridge Analytica's parent, SCL Group Ltd., is a British firm.

Under the U.K.'s privacy law, which is based on EU law, companies must ensure that personal information is "used for limited, specifically stated purposes." If the information includes "political opinions," then it is subject to stricter rules.

Jenny Gross

contributed to this article.

Write to Sam Schechner at sam.schechner@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 20, 2018 10:40 ET (14:40 GMT)

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