Facebook Suspends a Cambridge Analytica-Like App

Facebook Inc. (FB) has suspended at least two more data analytics companies from its platform after the headline Cambridge Analytica data breach. On Sunday, CNBC reported that the social media giant has banned a firm called CubeYou, which was collecting information about its users through misleadingly labeled quizzes, until a further audit is completed. (See also: Why Wall Street's Analysts Won't Give Up on Tech.)

CubeYou, which labeled its quizzes "for non-profit academic research," was selling user data generated from its quizzes to marketers. The company reportedly sold data that had been collected by researchers working with the Psychometrics Lab at Cambridge University, similar to how Cambridge Analytica used data obtained from other professors at the school for its political marketing.

On Friday, the FAANG company suspended Canadian political strategy firm AggregateIQ for improperly accessing user data, as reported by Reuters. 

87 Million or More Affected

Last week, Facebook's founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said that data from 87 million users had been harvested without their consent by political research firm Cambridge Analytica, which allegedly used the information to help the Trump campaign make political ads in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. This weekend, a Cambridge Analytica whistleblower said that the number may be much higher, while indicating that Facebook user data may be stored in Russia and other places. 

Many on the Street have become more pessimistic on Facebook stock as the company combats its biggest crisis in history. Bears point to the growing momentum of a #DeleteFacebook movement, which has gained the support of widely followed tech executives such as Apple Inc. (AAPL) co-founder Steve Wozniak and Tesla Inc.'s (TSLA) Elon Musk. 

Yet Zuckerberg's remarks last week, in which the CEO told reporters that he has not seen a noticeable change in user behavior in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, supports a bullish thesis on the Street that investors are overreacting to the recent news. A "buy on the dip" mentality has prompted some such as the mutual fund Sequoia, to take a stake in the tech titan. 

On Monday, Facebook users will find out if they were a victim of the Cambridge Analytica data breach by a notice popping up on their home page. On Tuesday, Zuckerberg is set to testify in front of Congress regarding his company's handling of user data. (See also: Alphabet, Facebook, Amazon: Now ‘Too Big to Fail’?)