April 12 (UPI) — The acting CEO of Cambridge Analytica — the data mining firm accused of improperly accessing data from millions of Facebook users — stepped down Wednesday, the company announced.
The company’s board of directors said Alexander Tayler would leave the role to return to his former position as chief data officer. There, he is expected to “focus on the various technical investigations and inquiries,” a news release from the company said.
Cambridge Analytica didn’t say why Tayler stepped down or who would take over as chief executive.
Tayler stepped into the position after Cambridge Analytica suspended CEO Alexander Nix on March 20.
The company said it was investigating comments Nix made in an undercover recording, which said Cambridge Analytica could secretly compromise political rivals by arranging smear campaigns, setting up encounters with prostitutes and staging bribery situations.
The data mining firm is credited with helping Donald Trump win the U.S. presidency in 2016.
“We would like to thank Dr. Tayler for his service in what has been a challenging time for the company,” the board of directors said.
Wednesday’s news came as Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerbergtestified to a House panel about user privacy in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
