Facebook announced Friday that it is suspending the Canadian data firm AggregateIQ for alleged ties to SCL, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica.
“In light of recent reports that AggregateIQ may be affiliated with SCL and may, as a result, have improperly received FB user data, we have added them to the list of entities we have suspended from our platform while we investigate,” Facebook said in a statement obtained by CNN.
AggregateIQ worked for campaigns trying to convince British people to vote for the U.K. to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum.
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The Canadian company distanced itself from Cambridge Analytica in a statement on its website but did not deny having done work for SCL.
“AggregateIQ has never been and is not a part of Cambridge Analytica or SCL. AggregateIQ has never entered into a contract with Cambridge Analytica,” it said.
“AggregateIQ has never managed, nor did we ever have access to, any Facebook data or database allegedly obtained improperly by Cambridge Analytica.”
The firm also denied having knowingly been involved in any illegal activity.
Cambridge Analytica said last week that it had subcontracted marketing and software development to AggregateIQ in 2014 and 2015 but said it was not involved in the work AggregateIQ did for the 2016 EU referendum.
Facebook suspended Cambridge Analytica last month for using the private data of about 50 million people it acquired without permission.
Facebook said on Wednesday that up to 87 million people could have been affected by the scandal involving Cambridge Analytica, which advised the Trump campaign in 2016.
Cambridge Analytica has disputed Facebook’s numbers and said it did not share this data with AggregateIQ.