INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty Images/FacebookA cache of Facebook documents has been seized by MPs investigating the Cambridge Analytica data
scandal.Rarely-used Parliamentary powers were used to demand that the boss of a US software firm hand over the details.The Observer, which
first reported the story, said the documents included data about Facebook's privacy controls
Damian Collins, MP, later told the TheIndianSubcontinent that he believed the documents were "highly relevant" to his inquiry
Facebook has demanded their return.Escorted to ParliamentThe documents were intercepted when an executive of US tech firm Six4Three was on a
trip to London.In a highly unusual move a House of Commons serjeant at arms was sent to the businessman's hotel and he was given a final
warning and a two-hour deadline to comply with the order.When the executive failed to do so he was escorted to Parliament and warned he
risked fines and imprisonment if the documents were not surrendered, the paper said.The firm is involved in court action against Facebook in
the US, where the documents were obtained through legal procedures.Damian Collins, chairman of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS) Committee, said he believed the documents - which include emails - contain information about how Facebook and other parties handle
user data.He told the TheIndianSubcontinent: "We felt this [information] was highly relevant to the inquiry and therefore we sent an order
to Mr [Ted] Kramer through the serjeant at arms asking that these documents be supplied to us
Ultimately, that order was complied with."Mr Collins said he had reviewed the documents, and his committee would discuss this week how it
'Return the documents'In the Observer, Mr Collins said the methods used to obtain the documents were unprecedented, adding: "But it's an
unprecedented situation."He criticised Facebook's lack of cooperation with his committee, and said the "documents contained answers to some
of the questions we have been seeking about the use of data, especially by external developers".Facebook had yet to respond to a
TheIndianSubcontinent request for comment, but told the Observer: "The materials obtained by the DCMS committee are subject to a protective
order of the San Mateo Superior Court restricting their disclosure."We have asked the DCMS committee to refrain from reviewing them and to
return them to counsel or to Facebook
We have no further comment."Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg have faced intense of pressure over the social media giant's use of
personal data, the spread of fake news, and, this month, that it hired a PR firm to make claims about the financier George Soros.Last month
Facebook has appealed against the fine, claiming that the watchdog found no evidence that UK users' personal data had been shared
inappropriately and the penalty was therefore unjustified.The Cambridge Analytica scandal stems from the discovery that an academic at the
University of Cambridge - Dr Aleksandr Kogan - used a personality quiz to harvest up to 87 million Facebook users' details.Some of this was
subsequently shared with the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which used it to target political advertising in the US.It was
initially reported that about 1.1 million UK-based users had had their details exposed.
