Ex-Cambridge Analytica chief banned from running companies for 7 years

The former boss of Cambridge Analytica, the political consulting firm brought down by a scandal over how it obtained Facebook users' private data, has been banned from holding company directorships for seven years.

Britain's Insolvency Service said Thursday that Alexander Nix is banned from running companies after he permitted Cambridge Analytica's parent firm, SCL Elections Ltd., and connected firms to market themselves as offering potentially unethical services to prospective clients.

UK-based Cambridge Analytica was accused of playing a key role in the 2014 breach of 87 million Facebook users' personal data.