Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/956412
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2018 News 7 YANNICK PACE THE spokesperson for the gov- ernment of Malta has denied having had any contact with the data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, or any similar firm before 2017. Kurt Farrugia said on Mon- day the Maltese government or the Labour Party never met any of their representatives, after an international exposé on the company's role in using millions of Facebook profiles to influence voters in the 2016 US election and the Brexit referendum. "We have never met with any one of their representatives or with anyone claiming to be their representative," Farrugia said, adding that the same applied for other similar companies. "We've never ever even made any con- tact." Farrugia said this was true of both the government and the Labour Party, both during the 2013 and 2017 elections. He also denied knowing that Cambridge Analytica CEO Al- exander Nix was in Malta at the same time that the country was gearing up for the 2017 election. Farrugia also said that claims that a Facebook and mobile phone game the Labour Party launched in 2015, was used to collect user data, were "pure fic- tion". The app was a racing game that asked users to choose one of the colours red, blue, green – unmistakably the political col- ours of the Malta's Labour, Na- tionalist and green parties – and required users to submit their name, email and ID number as well as being asked to choose be- tween a tunnel or a bridge con- necting Gozo to Malta. "The app was developed for the government of Malta by an es- tablished local digital company," Farrugia told MaltaToday. "The data from the app was never used by government and certainly never transferred to any third parties. The govern- ment abided by and provided terms and conditions which protected data and privacy of participants." Claims that Labour had em- ployed the services of Cam- bridge Analytica were made in 2017 by the late journalist Daph- ne Caruana Galizia, but never substantiated. The Nationalist Party's (PN) head of communications told MaltaToday that there had nev- er been any contact between the PN or any of its representatives and the company. He also de- nied being aware that Nix was in Malta last year. Meanwhile, former leader Si- mon Busuttil told LovinMalta. com that the PN had never even been approached by the big data firm. "I double checked with my former head of office [Matthew Gatt] and secretary general [Ro- sette Thake] and both denied it," Busuttil said. "I also double- checked my emails just in case and couldn't find any reference to Cambridge Analytica at all. We had been approached by PR lobbying companies but never by data mining companies. I consider such direct targeting of voters through their psycho- logical mind-sets to be in clear breach of their privacy and per- haps even of the law. That social media and data an- alytics can be used by political parties to sway voters is not new, but the latest revelations about Cambridge Analytica appear to show the relative ease and extent to which the democratic process can be influenced. Documents leaked to the Ob- server newspaper by Christo- pher Wylie, a former employee and whistle-blower show how the company used personal information taken without au- thorisation in early 2014 to build a system that could profile in- dividual US voters, in order to target them with personalised political advertisements. "The company has created psychological profiles of 230 million Americans. And now they want to work with the Pen- tagon? It's like Nixon on ster- oids," Wylie told The Observer of the companies US operations. Wylie was the one who came up with the idea that allowed Cambridge Analytica to turn Facebook likes into a political tool but was driven by guilt to come forward with information. His former company is cur- rently being investigated in the US – as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Trump-Russia col- lusion – as well as in the UK, over its role in the Brexit refer- endum. The revelations prompted Fa- cebook to suspend the company over improper use of the plat- form, an allegation the CA has denied. On Monday Facebook's shares price dropped by a whop- ping 6.8%, wiping $36.7 billion off the social media giant's mar- ket value, and the largest drop in four years. An undercover investigation by Channel 4 News showed that Cambridge Analytica's opera- tions go beyond Facebook data harvesting, with its employees – including Nix – filmed saying they could entrap their clients' rival politicians in compromis- ing situations with bribes and Ukrainian prostitutes. Cambridge Analytica has de- nied wrongdoing. "Cambridge Analytica fully complies with Facebook's terms of service and is currently in touch with Face- book following its recent state- ment that it had suspended the company from its platform, in order to resolve this matter as quickly as possible," the com- pany said in a statement, adding that its information had been obtained legally and fairly. ypace@mediatoday.com.mt Government, PN deny being approached by Cambridge Analytica CEO of data analytics firm that tapped into US and UK voters' psychological impulses to sway elections was reported to be in Malta in 2017 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Abela asked the court to or- der a ban on publication of any of the details of the accused as this would have repercussions on the victims and their police work. "Otherwise it would be impossible for the women to continue with their jobs," he said. The prosecution agreed and seconded the request. The court, in view of the particu- lar circumstances of the case prohibited the press from pub- lishing any of the details of the accused or his victim on all media. From the dock, the accused told the court that he was un- employed as he resigned from the police force yesterday. He denied the charges and re- quested bail. The defence requested that in the first hearing of the case, the victim be summoned to testi- fy in order that the court and the parties be able to establish their positions. The court up- held the request and ordered the prosecution to summon the victim in the next sitting, which will be happening today. Abela asked the court to or- der a social inquiry report and impose a treatment order "so that we can start working im- mediately." After approaching the bench and discussing the case out of earshot of the public for some time, the prosecution said they would be objecting to bail on a number of grounds. The defence argued that the only reasons for which the accused could justifiably be held in custody is the gravity of the of- fence, but the prosecution then told the court that it feared the accused would harm himself. Bail was denied, but a request by the defence, for the accused to be held at Mount Carmel's Forensic Ward, was upheld. A protection order was issued in favour of the female officers involved. In a statement on Monday evening, the police said the 27-year-old police constable is expected to be charged in court with raping a fellow of- ficer and violent indecent as- sault and sexual abuse of an- other officer. Sources have told MaltaTo- day the alleged case of rape happened at the Msida police station, where the male of- ficer was stationed. The other charges are related to another case involving a different fe- male officer, who alleged sex- ual abuse while in the district police car with the male col- league. Accused resigned from police force yesterday