Huffing and puffing: Colombia gets tough on Pig.gi in the face of Cambridge Analytica scandal

Emily Hart

Director - Writing Rights

​Colombian regulators have taken a firm approach to data misuse in the face of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, impending elections, and politicians accused of corruption and cartel links.  
 
Last week, an app was blocked after revelations of collaboration with Cambridge Analytica (CA): Colombia’s commerce regulator blocked Pig.gi, its website, and its social media pages. The regulator announced that the app would be unavailable until investigations are concluded, as a “preventative measure, given the potential risk of a wrongful and massive illegal use of the personal data of thousands of Colombians.”
 
In the wake of the CA data scandal and claims of influencing elections worldwide, the stakes are high in Colombia: presidential elections are next month. Colombia is still listed on CA’s website as a location for work on “electoral strategy”.
 
Yohir Akerman, columnist at El Espectador, reported that three sources spoke to him of a relationship between CA and former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who is backing presidential hopeful Iván Duque. Uribe’s career has been spotted with allegations of corruption and alleged links to groups including the Medellin Cartel and Pablo Escobar himself. Uribe denounced the accusations as “slander”.

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