The government of India has sent a show cause notice to Facebook seeking details of whether the personal data of Indian voters and users has been compromised by British data firm Cambridge Analytica or any other entities. The Indian government's moves echo that of ones taken by regulators and legislators in other parts of the world following the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The government is also seeking details on whether the data obtained from Facebook has been used to manipulate the Indian electoral process. The social media giant has been given time till April 7, to respond to the letter by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY). The government had issued a similar notice to Cambridge Analytica (CA), the British political consulting firm at the centre of the storm. The government had sought details on whether CA had been engaged in any assignment to utilize data of Indians from the reported breach. CA has until March 31 to respond. Following last weeks revelations, IT and Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad had said, “Facebook is welcome to operate in India. I am happy that it has the largest footprint in India with around 20 crore users, but any attempt by Facebook or vendor like Cambridge Analytica to influence elections will not be tolerated.” CA whistleblower's revelations on India Christopher Wylie, the former Cambridge Analytica (CA) employee who unveiled the consulting firm’s misuse of Facebook data, said that the firm has worked extensively in India and the current principal opposition party, Congress…
