Advertisers threatened to abandon Facebook last night as Mark Zuckerberg apologized for mistakes it made over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Mr Zuckerberg, co-founder and chief executive of the US technology giant, broke his silence to head off a revolt among users and financial backers. He described the incident as a “major breach of trust” and said he was open to further regulation of the website. ISBA, a British group of advertisers that spend hundreds of millions of pounds a year on Facebook,
demanded answers. It is understood that some of its 3,000 brands, which include those of the consumer goods companies Unilever and P&G, will not tolerate association with Facebook if it emerges that users’ data has found its way into the hands of brokers and political campaigners without authorization. Sources close to the trade body said that if the company’s answers were not satisfactory, advertisers might spend their money elsewhere. ISBA will meet Facebook executives this week. READ MORE