Facebook is accused of knowing Cambridge Analytica mined its user data

Facebook Inc. employees knew the Cambridge Analytica political-consulting firm had mined users’ personal data but didn’t tell those users before the news became public, an attorney for the District of Columbia said in court.

D.C. Assistant Deputy Attorney General Jimmy Rock made the claim while arguing against the social network’s bid to dismiss the district’s consumer protection lawsuit against it. The British consultancy used the data to target and influence voters on behalf of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign.

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine sued Facebook in December, accusing it of allowing Cambridge University researcher Aleksandr Kogan to gain access to the personal information of some 70 million Americans, 340,000 of whom live in the capital. The company’s failure to safeguard that information allegedly violated D.C. consumer protection laws. The suit seeks a court order barring Facebook from continuing such practices, as well as unspecified monetary damages.