"We’re pleased with the decision of the judge and we plan to execute the warrant shortly," the ICO said in a tweet before entering Cambridge Analytica's offices. "This is just one part of a larger investigation into the use of personal data for political purposes and we will now need time to collect and consider the evidence."

Meanwhile, Cambridge Analytica was in damage control mode on Friday. The company's acting CEO and former Chief Data Officer, Alexander Tayler, emailed a message to the press claiming the company did not use the illicitly obtained Facebook data during the 2016 US elections. He also sought to cast doubt on the veracity of whistleblower Chris Wylie's claims.

Here's the full letter:

23 Mar 2018, by Cambridge Analytica, London



As a data scientist I deeply believe in fairness and transparency in

the way data is collected and processed. I am sorry that in 2014 SCL

Elections (an affiliate of Cambridge Analytica) licensed Facebook data

and derivatives from a research company (GSR) that had not received

consent from most respondents. The company believed that the data had

been obtained in line with Facebook’s terms of service and data

protection laws.



I became Chief Data Officer for Cambridge Analytica in October 2015.

Shortly after, Facebook requested that we delete the data. We

immediately deleted the raw data from our file server, and began the

process of searching for and removing any of its derivatives in our

system. When Facebook sought further assurances a year ago, we carried

out an internal audit to make sure that all the data, all derivatives

and backups had been deleted, and gave Facebook a certificate to this

effect. Please can I be absolutely clear: we did not use any GSR data

in the work we did in the 2016 US presidential election.



We are now undertaking an independent third-party audit to verify that

we do not hold any GSR data. We have been in touch with the UK

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) since February 2017, when we

hosted its team in our London office to provide total transparency on

the data we hold, how we process it, and the legal basis for us

processing it. I want to make sure we remain committed to helping the

ICO in their investigations.



The recent media frenzy has been distressing. The source of

allegations against the company is not a whistleblower or a founder of

the company. Christopher Wylie was a part-time contractor who left in

July 2014 and has no direct knowledge of our work or practices since

that date. He was at the company for less than a year, after which he

was made the subject of restraining undertakings to prevent his misuse

of the company's intellectual property while attempting to set up his

own rival firm.



Cambridge Analytica was formed in 2013, out of a much older company

called SCL Elections. Cambridge Analytica is a data science

consultancy and marketing agency which does undertake some political

work in the US, while SCL Elections is a consultancy focusing on

non-US political campaigns. We take the disturbing recent allegations

of unethical practices in our non-US political business very

seriously. The Board has launched a full and independent investigation

into SCL Elections’ past practices, and its findings will be made

available in due course.



As anyone who is familiar with our staff and work can testify, we in

no way resemble the politically-motivated and unethical company that

some have sought to portray. Our staff are a talented, diverse and

vibrant group of people.



I believe that we should all have more control over our data, and

there should be more transparency over how and when it is used. I

welcome Europe's new data protection laws (GDPR). There are very good

reasons for updating current data regulations, which date back years

to a very different time. From giving everyone more protection, to

promoting a more equal privacy landscape, these changes will be good

for the industry as a whole.



END