Essay Sample on Cyber Crimes by Cambridge Analytica

Introduction

The use of the personal information should be mainly for private purposes. However, when it lands into the 'wrong hands' the situation may be difficult (Steele). The obtaining and the use of the personal information that was obtained by Cambridge Analytica was ruthless and senseless. It was illegal to obtain personal information from Facebook to use it for psychological purposes and influence people without their knowledge (Cadwalladr). As Wiley explains, bullying would be a better option because they have got a least the agency and people know what is happening to them.

Cambridge Analytica was used to influence the elections in Nigeria. This was wrong by interfering with a process which should be free and fair to influence its outcomes. The company in 2015 sent some of the messages to the users on Facebook claiming that the election had been rigged. This influenced the election outcome leading to the win of Muhammed Buhari as the president. The spread of wrong information is illegal and punishable by law (Sich).

The company through its parent company SCL had been established for data analysis purposes, but there was some illegal undertaking. Through Dr. Kogan, the company was able to create an app known as 'thisismydigitallife' on Facebook. The application was intended to test on the personality traits. The collaboration between the two companies was wrong. This is because Facebook just gave the go-ahead without understanding the threats that would be posed by the app. Facebook should have an understanding of all the app placed on its platform to avoid losing on the personal information of its users (Sich).

There is also the loss of confidence and goodwill from the users. This is especially in the case of Facebook. People can no longer trust to use the platform as they fear that their information or those belonging to their friends could be lost (Cadwalladr). Nevertheless, it might never be clear to them who has got access to their personal data and the intended purpose. Moreover, it was wrong for Facebook through it representatives to deny that the information had been accessed only to later claim by their legal team that the involved companies had deleted the information they had obtained. This was absolutely reckless.

Cambridge Analytica has also had sensitive information on the defense of the United States which could compromise of the security of the country and many other countries in the world. This is because the information can be sold to terror group thus endangering the lives of the millions of people living in the U.S (Sich). Moreover, obtaining the information on the electorate in the 2016 election where Mr. Trump won was illegal. This is because the information was obtained without the consent of the users. In the same vein, 'psychoinforgraphs' were sent to the users to influence the outcome of the election which should be a democratic, free and fair process (Cadwalladr).

There is also the use of Lukoil the second largest oil producing company in Russia. The company has been able to obtain data from Cambridge Analytica on the U.S electorate. This is illegal to sell or give out information on another individual to a third party. The company whose CEO is directly answerable to the president of Russia means that the information may be used to control America or even strategize on targeting wars. In the very sense that the information obtained by Cambridge Analytica was given out is wrong since it may cause acts of wars.

Conclusion

Personal information should remain personal. It is immoral and illegal for companies which have been bestowed the trust by their customers such as Facebook to compromise on their security (Steele). What is even more worrying is the fact that the company did not take any legal action against Cambridge Analytica which was involved in the scheme. Users should also be more cautious about the apps to which they subscribe unto no matter how appealing they may be presented. It is, therefore, upon the U.S and the UK's government to take up action to protect their citizens from such predicaments in future.

Works Cited

Cadwalladr, Carole. "'I Made Steve Bannon's Psychological Warfare Tool?: Meet the Data War Whistleblower." The Guardian, 21 Mar. 2018, www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/data-war-whistleblower-christopher-wylie-faceook-nix-bannon-trump.

Sich, Adam. "Everything You Need to Know About the Cambridge Analytica Expose? Video Explainer." The Guardian, 21 Mar. 2018, www.theguardian.com/news/video/2018/mar/19/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-cambridge-analytica-expose-video-explainer.

Steele, Bob. "Hidden Cameras: High-Powered and High-Risk." Poynter, 25 Aug. 2002, www.poynter.org/news/hidden-cameras-high-powered-and-high-risk.