Theresa May has called on MPs to support tougher powers for Britain’s data watchdog, as its efforts to secure a warrant to raid the offices of scandal-hit Cambridge Analytica enters a third day.
Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham pledged to raid the secretive company’s London headquarters and access its files and servers as part of a inquiry into the alleged unauthorised use of data from millions of Facebook profiles.
But her office, the ICO, told HuffPost UK it “still had no update” over its court battle. A spokesperson said it hoped to “complete the process” by the end of the day.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister told MPs: “I am pleased to say of course that the bill we are bringing forward on data protection will... give the ICO tougher powers to ensure organisations comply.
“I would hope it would be supported by a lot of members from across this house.”
It comes as politicians and campaigners describe the situation as “farcical”.
Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson, told HuffPost: “It is unacceptable that there has been such a delay for the Information Commissioner to be granted access to the Cambridge Analytica offices.
“By the time [Denham] is granted access, everyone and their dog will be aware of the warrant request. Evidence may well be destroyed in the meantime.
“This farcical display has highlighted the need for major reform. The process needs streamlining.
“The Information Commissioner must be given the resources she needs to do her job effectively. She must also be given increased legal powers, including the power to force disclosure of requested information.”
Rachel Coldicutt, chief executive of internet think tank Dot Everyone, told HuffPost: “They need more people, as well as more experienced and qualified ones.
“The question is almost why the ICO have had to wait till now to move into action, and why there aren’t more effective processes in place for them to get a warrant?”
Channel 4 News presenter, Jon Snow, who anchored two special broadcasts of an investigation into Cambridge Analytica this week, said on Twitter that delays in obtaining a warrant were “surely unbelievable”.
Snow added: “[B]y the time [Denham] gets in there how much evidence will be left?!”
Journalist Chris Cook, the BBC Newsnight policy editor, said that the process has taken as long as seven days in the past.
Cambridge’s chief executive Alexander Nix was suspended by the firm’s board on Tuesday night, after its New Oxford Street HQ was placed on lockdown.
HuffPost was among the media outside the offices and observed 10 plastic crates filled with folders and documents being removed from the building on Tuesday. Their provenance could not be verified.
The ICO, which is in part based in Wilmslow, Cheshire, refused to confirm to HuffPost whether it had a team on standby in the capital.
Denham, a Canadian information expert who has led the ICO since 2016, said of Cambridge Analytica on Monday: “We need to get in there, we need to look at the databases.”
She also asked a team of forensic data specialists hired by Facebook to stay away from Cambridge’s HQ.
Cambridge Analytica did not respond to a request for comment, but has said on Twitter that it has worked with the ICO in its investigations since January 2017.
Facebook has been approached for comment.
Additional reporting from Jack Sommers and Ned Simons.
What is Cambridge Analytica accused of?
Cambridge Analytica is alleged to have been passed personal data from Facebook apps without the consent of the individuals.
Both Cambridge Analytica and parent company SCL have been barred from Facebook because its operation violated company policies by obtaining personal data from its customers, Facebook said in a statement, adding that it believed the company had destroyed the information three years ago.
The data was initially obtained through an app that promised to provide users with “personality predictions.”
To create those predictions, Cambridge Analytica harvested personal information from the Facebook profiles of more than 50 million users, according to a joint investigation by The New York Times and The Observer.