Cambridge Analytica has suspended its chief executive amid claims the firm harvested personal data from up to 50 million Facebook users.
It comes after secret recordings captured Alexander Nix boasting about the company’s pivotal role in securing Donald Trump‘s election victory.
In the recordings, captured by a Channel 4 journalist, Mr Nix claims his firm ran “all” the elements of the Trump campaign.
He says: ”We did all the research, all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting, we ran all the digital campaign, the television campaign and our data informed all the strategy.”
Alexander Nix left the Cambridge Analytica building at 6.30pm through a fire exit door (Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)
In a statement, Cambridge Analytica’s board of directors said: ”In the view of the Board, Mr Nix’s recent comments secretly recorded by Channel 4 and other allegations do not represent the values or operations of the firm and his suspension reflects the seriousness with which we view this violation.”
Mr Nix left the Cambridge Analytica building through a fire exit door at 6.30pm on Monday.
In the footage, due to be broadcast on Tuesday night in the third part of Channel 4’s investigation into the company, Mr Nix reveals how his team used a self-destructing email system which leaves no trace.
He was recorded saying: “No-one knows we have it, and secondly we set our… emails with a self-destruct timer… So you send them and after they’ve been read, two hours later, they disappear.
“There’s no evidence, there’s no paper trail, there’s nothing.”
Mr Nix was also recorded explaining how Cambridge Analytica sets up proxy organisations to feed untraceable messages on to social media.
He mocks representatives on the US’s House Intelligence Committee, to whom he gave evidence in 2017.
In the footage, he claims Republican members asked just three questions. “After five minutes – done.”
He adds: “They’re politicians, they’re not technical. They don’t understand how it works,” and claims Democrats on the Committee are motivated by “sour grapes”.
The Channel 4 programme said Mr Nix made the comments to a reporter posing as a wealthy potential client seeking to use Cambridge Analytica to influence campaigns in Sri Lanka.
The firm is being investigated by British officials for its handling of Facebook users’ personal data.
It has been accused of improperly using information from more than 50 million Facebook accounts. It denies wrongdoing.
The statement from the firm’s board of directors added: “We have asked Dr Alexander Tayler to serve as acting CEO while an independent investigation is launched to review those comments and allegations.
“We have asked Julian Malins QC to lead this investigation, the findings of which the board will share publicly in due course.
“The board will be monitoring the situation closely, working closely with Dr Tayler, to ensure that Cambridge Analytica, in all of its operations, represents the firm’s values and delivers the highest-quality service to its clients.”
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