In response to reports that Cambridge Analytica exploited the private information of more than 50 million Facebook users during the 2016 presidential campaign, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) called for an official investigation by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.
Feinstein, the committee’s ranking member, called on U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the committee’s chairman, to hold hearings, compel executives of Cambridge Analytica to produce documents, and to call relevant witnesses to testify before the committee in a letter sent on Monday.
“These reports detail allegations of an egregious breach of privacy and trust,” Feinstein wrote. “The private information of more than 50 million Americans is reported to have been taken from social media accounts, without notice or consent, to game the political system. In addition, these reports outline serious allegations that foreign actors engaged with a U.S. campaign to create and implement a widespread influence operation that targeted American voters based on the personal information harvested from these accounts. Such activity implicates campaign finance laws and a broader conspiracy to defraud the United States, matters that fall squarely within this committee’s oversight jurisdiction.”
Feinstein requested information from individuals tied to Cambridge Analytica last year, including Brad Parscale, Dan Scavino, and Steve Bannon. The requests were ignored, Feinstein wrote, and the committee should “follow up on pending requests and identify additional information and witnesses” as a first step.
“These reports raise serious allegations, and the American people need to know how this happened, who knew about it, why steps were not taken sooner to bring it to an end, and what can be done to protect their privacy and the integrity of our elections going forward,” the letter concluded.