Cambridge Analytica and Facebook: The Scandal and the Fallout So Far

 I'm not incredibly surprised at the level to which Cambridge Analytica and the related companies were willing to stoop in order to offer the kinds of services that it's clients would pay for; what surprises me is that there are clear lines that can be drawn, that actually warrant further aggressive actions by the United States government. Just on August 31st, Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13924 into law. As is written in this piece of legislation; 

"Agencies should consider applying the rule of lenity in administrative investigations, enforcement actions, and adjudication by reading genuine statutory or regulatory ambiguities related to administrative violations and penalties in favor of the targeted party in enforcement."

In plain speak, corporations suspected of actions as egregious as the things which Cambridge Analytica had engaged in are to be given the benefit of the doubt until there is absolutely no doubt. The investigators may issue an enforcement action, but in light of the rule of lenity, this could substantially limit said enforcement of penalties or restriction that are usual in these types of investigations. 

This might not seem like such a shock, except that this order came directly from the office of the President, and it has been repeatedly shown that he is willing to take incredibly emboldened actions in order to protect his own interests. The most prominent name of course, is John Bolton. Former National Security Adviser to the President, Author of "The Room Where it Happened". The release of this memoir compelled the White House to legal action in order to stop the publication, which was ruled against. After the release, the Department of Justice has begun a criminal inquiry regarding the book in order to ascertain whether or not any classified information was divulged.

So...the implications of a company that compromised the data of up to 87 million users, that it has been shown had been implemented by Senior Advisors to the Prime Minister of Britain in order to favorably influence public sentiment toward and also hasten the passage of Brexit. A company that had been pilot tested by John Bolton, the former Defense Secretary of the United States, also former Ambassador to the U.N., whom had influenced Trump to exit the Iran nuclear deal. He had also made a case that Communist nations in the Western Hemisphere such as Venezuela and Cuba presented threats to U.S. influence in South America, and let Trump know that invasion was an "on the table" option when in came to Venezuela...I'm not sure we could make this stuff up. Does anyone else feel like we're on borrowed time?