How to get your data back from Cambridge Analytica
It’s been widely reported that there was misuse in the collection and retention of roughly 50 million Facebook user’s data. Lawmakers around the world are voicing concerns about how it occurred and how it was used to influence voters in the most recent US Presidential election.
At Datum, we are working towards a future in which you are 100% in control of your data. Your data is stored securely on the Datum decentralized storage network. You and you alone are in control of your data. And, should you decide to share some or all of your data with someone, you will get paid for providing access to your data, without ever transferring ownership. It’s a paradigm shift to the way your data is handled today.
In the mean time, here are a few quick and easy steps to recover your data from Cambridge Analytica.
1. If you live in the US and you took a personality survey on Facebook in 2014, there is a 1 in 6 chance that Cambridge Analytica scraped and stored your Facebook data.
2. Head on over to Cambridge Analytica’s Data Request form which is hosted by 3rd party Google. (We don’t actually recommend you fill out the form until you’ve fully read through Google’s nine page privacy policy.)
3. Make sure you’re ready to give Cambridge Analytics even more data about you. They require two recent utility bills and a government issued ID to see if they have your data. You can send it unencrypted and insecurely via email to data.compliance@cambridgeanalytica.org (Again, please don’t do this!)
4. Build a time machine to go back in time to when people used check books and make out a check to “Cambridge Analytica” for 10 GBP ~$14 USD. (That’s right the model is you pay them to take back your data.) Optionally, you can pay a $30 wire fee to your bank and wait 3–5 business days for you wire transfer to arrive at SCL Elections Ltd.
5. If Cambridge Analytica has your data, they’ll provide it in a legible format. (Though the form makes no mention of Cambridge Analytica deleting your data.)
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