Cambridge Analytica, the company at the centre of the Facebook data scandal, has alleged "hundreds" of companies are harvesting personal information from social network users, a claim that could spell trouble for Mark Zuckerberg as he faces Congress on Tuesday.

The political research company, which was employed by the Trump campaign in the run-up to the US presidential election, on Monday night released a statement in an attempt to quell the media storm that has been brewing since it used data from a fake quiz app that siphoned personal information from millions of Facebook users.

Acting chief executive Alexander Tayler said: "Cambridge Analytica did not 'hack' Facebook. A research company (GSR) licensed the data to us, which they legally obtained via a tool provided by Facebook.

"Hundreds of data firms have utilized Facebook data in a similar fashion. To be clear: Cambridge Analytica did not illegally or inappropriately collect or share data with anybody else. Cambridge Analytica has not broken [Federal Election Commission] regulations."

The claim comes as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg prepares for a grilling from the Senate on Tuesday evening. The 33-year-old billionaire has been preparing for his two-day testimony - a rare public appearance - by meeting with senators and staging a press conference.