Facebook Suspends Second Company for Abuses Similar to Cambridge Analytica

“These are serious claims and we have suspended CubeYou from Facebook while we investigate them,” says Facebook VP

Facebook has suspended and is investigating a second data analytics firm, CubeYou, after learning that the company was harvesting user information via quizzes.

CNBC first notified the platform that CubeYou was labeling quizzes such as “You Are What You Like” (aka “Apply Magic Sauce”) as for “non-profit academic research that has no connection whatsoever to any commercial or profit-making purpose or entity,” but then selling the user information it collected to marketers.

“These are serious claims and we have suspended CubeYou from Facebook while we investigate them,” Ime Archibong, Facebook vice president of product partnerships, said in a statement.

“If they refuse or fail our audit, their apps will be banned from Facebook. In addition, we will work with the UK ICO [Information Commissioner’s Office] to ask the University of Cambridge about the development of apps in general by its Psychometrics Centre given this case and the misuse by Kogan,” he said.

This news comes following Facebook’s announcement on April 4 that 87 million users unknowingly had their information accessed by Cambridge Analytica in 2014 — a jump from the 50 million users originally believed to have been hit.

Facebook is taking steps to restrict data access moving forward. Apps will now need Facebook approval, along with the green light from administrators, to access information — including member list of a group and personal information such as names and profile photos attached to posts or comments.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify about the matter in front of Congress on Tuesday, April 10.

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