Facebook "continues to be evasive" over its handling of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and its role within it, said UK MPs this morning.
In response to a letter from Facebook to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee which was published late last night, the committee's chair Damian Collins said that the social media giant is beginning to display a pattern.
In these responses, Facebook continue to display a pattern of evasive behaviour – a pattern which has emerged over the course of our inquiry. In some cases, these answers even show inconsistencies in their evidence to us.
The lack of public scrutiny of social media and tech companies like Facebook, considering their profound influence over our lives, is a matter of serious concern for this committee.
Collins added that these concerns will be addressed as part of the committee's interim report, due to be published later this year.
Facebook first responded to a former version of the DCMS inquiry in March 2017, and has since appeared twice before committee members and provided eight written updates to additional questions.
Read more: UK parliament "snubbed" as Facebook boss heads to Brussels
The committee's goal is to fully explore the role that Facebook's data played in Cambridge Analytica's handling of the 2016 US Presidential election, which the consultancy obtained illegally.
The chair said that Facebook appears reluctant to be subject to scrutiny, and instead would prefer their engagement to be kept to only the minimum necessary.
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