Cambridge Analytica’s suspended CEO Alexander Nix will no longer testify before a United Kingdom parliamentary committee.
Nix was suspended following the company’s controversy with Facebook, and is now involved in a criminal investigation, which is why he says he can’t appear before the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee.
“His legal representation has said that he’s now not able to give evidence to the committee tomorrow, as a consequence of him having been served an information notice, and being subject to a criminal investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office,” Damian Collins, chair of Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, said during a committee session.
However, that may not be enough for Nix to skip out on testifying. Collins said they do not except Nix’s reason for not appearing and is considering issuing a formal summons in an emailed statement to Reuters.
“There is therefore no legal reason why Mr. Nix cannot appear,” Collins added.
Cambridge Analytica gained information on approximately 87 million Facebook users, passed on from Aleksandr Kogan, who created the app “thisisyourdigitallife.” Facebook said it asked Cambridge Analytica to delete the data back in 2015 when it first learned the company inappropriately gained access to the information. After reports surfaced that Cambridge Analytica still had that data, the company claimed it deleted it while suspending then-CEO Nix. Acting CEO Alexander Tayler stepped down weeks later as well, returning to his former position as chief data officer.