User Data Privacy: Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, and Privacy Protection
Abstract
With the revelation that Facebook handed over personally identifiable information of more than 87 million users to Cambridge Analytica, it is now imperative that comprehensive privacy policy laws be developed. Technologists, researchers, and innovators should meaningfully contribute to the development of these policies.
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Cambridge Analytica harvested the personal information of millions of Facebook users without their knowledge or consent and exploited intimate details of individuals' preferences, vulnerabilities, and networks to influence electoral behaviour.
“By harvesting the personal information of millions of Facebook users without their knowledge or consent, Cambridge Analytica exploited intimate details of individuals' preferences, vulnerabilities, and networks to influence electoral behaviour (Isaak & Hanna, 2018).”
From Deepfakes, Democracy, and the Ethics of Synthetic Media: A Synthesis of the SOLARIS Project (2026) · cites this paper as Isaak & Hanna, 2018
The Cambridge Analytica scandal illustrates how the misuse of personal data can become a powerful instrument of manipulation and reputational harm.
“The Cambridge Analytica scandal illustrates how the misuse of personal data can become a powerful instrument of manipulation and reputational harm.”
From Deepfakes, Democracy, and the Ethics of Synthetic Media: A Synthesis of the SOLARIS Project (2026) · cites this paper as Isaak & Hanna, 2018
Cites
A 61-million-person experiment in social influence and political mobilization
Bond, R. M., Fariss, C. J., Jones, J. J., Kramer, A. D. I., Marlow, C., Settle, J. E., & Fowler, J. H. (2012) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature11421 · Cited by 2,575 · see citing works
Psychological targeting as an effective approach to digital mass persuasion
Matz, S. C., Kosinski, M., Nave, G., & Stillwell, D. J. (2017) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1710966114 · Cited by 892 · see citing works
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Studying Reddit: A Systematic Overview of Disciplines, Approaches, Methods, and Ethics
Proferes, N., Jones, N., Gilbert, S., Fiesler, C., & Zimmer, M. (2021) · Social Media + Society · doi:10.1177/20563051211019004 · Cited by 537 · see citing works
“For example, personally identifiable information from more than 87 million Facebook users was collected in an academic study, but then the data were used by Cambridge Analytica to micro-target political advertisements (Isaak & Hanna, 2018).”
MethodYigitcanlar, T., & Cugurullo, F. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su12208548 · Cited by 337 · see citing works
Governing Artificial Intelligence to benefit the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Truby, J. (2020) · Sustainable Development · doi:10.1002/sd.2048 · Cited by 266 · see citing works
Hybrid collective intelligence in a human–AI society
Peeters, M. M. M., van Diggelen, J., van den Bosch, K., Bronkhorst, A., Neerincx, M. A., Schraagen, J. M., & Raaijmakers, S. (2021) · AI & SOCIETY · doi:10.1007/s00146-020-01005-y · Cited by 229 · see citing works
Artificial intelligence for human flourishing – Beyond principles for machine learning
Stahl, B. C., Andreou, A., Brey, P., Hatzakis, T., Kirichenko, A., Macnish, K., Laulhé Shaelou, S., Patel, A., Ryan, M., & Wright, D. (2021) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.11.030 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
COVID-19, digital privacy, and the social limits on data-focused public health responses
Fahey, R. A., & Hino, A. (2020) · International Journal of Information Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102181 · Cited by 187 · see citing works
Misunderstanding the harms of online misinformation
Budak, C., Nyhan, B., Rothschild, D. M., Thorson, E., & Watts, D. J. (2024) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07417-w · Cited by 156 · see citing works
Beyond the individual: Governing AI’s societal harm
Smuha, N. A. (2021) · Internet Policy Review · doi:10.14763/2021.3.1574 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Pandl, K. D., Thiebes, S., Schmidt-Kraepelin, M., & Sunyaev, A. (2020) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2020.2981447 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Tuomi, I. (2022) · European Journal of Education · doi:10.1111/ejed.12531 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Self-Sovereign Identity Solutions: The Necessity of Blockchain Technology
van Bokkem, D., Hageman, R., Koning, G., Nguyen, L., & Zarin, N. (2019) · arXiv · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1904.12816 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Deepfakes, Democracy, and the Ethics of Synthetic Media: A Synthesis of the SOLARIS Project
(2026) · University of Maribor Press · doi:10.18690/um.feri.2.2026
- Authors
- Isaak, J., & Hanna, M. J.
- Affiliations
- IEEE Computer Society (US)
- Synopsys (United States) (US)
- Venue
- Computer
- Published
- 2018-08
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 56-59
- ISSN
- 0018-9162 (ISSN-L)
- 1558-0814
- OpenAlex
- W2886130191
- Cited by
- 700
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 47 · 2025: 69 · 2024: 90 · 2023: 96 · 2022: 122 · 2021: 132 · 2020: 106 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 156.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Computer (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
- Social Sciences › Law › Digitalization, Law, and Regulation
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
- Keywords
- user privacy, Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, personally identifiable information, privacy policies, data protection law, data sharing, social networking sites
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