Will use Facebook data to influence voters: Cambridge Analytica told Cong; Party says never used services

Months before it landed in a major data breach controversy, UK-based analytics firm Cambridge Analytica purportedly offered to spearhead Congress' campaign for the 2019 general elections for a 'budget' of about Rs 2.5 crore, even as the party says it never hired such services.

As per a leaked 49-page 'proposal' made in August 2017, which has now also found its way to the social media, Cambridge Analytics (CA) suggested using Facebook data for "influencing the voter intention".

When contacted, Congress' in-charge of data analytics department, Praveen Chakravarthy, told PTI the Congress is a big national party and receives so many proposals, but it never hired the services of CA.

"There has been no relationship or understanding with Cambridge Analytica," he said.

Asked about the document proposing the party's strategy for the 2019 polls, he said, "I have not seen any such document and am not aware of it."
Chakravarthy, who took over the data analytics department of the party recently, further said, "There is no reason for the Congress to obfuscate on this issue. The Congress party has never hired the services of Cambridge Analytica."