House Dems seek answers from firm led by former Cambridge Analytica employee

House Democrats want the head of a firm founded by a former Cambridge Analytica employee to verify that the new company, Data Propria, isn’t engaged in improper data-harvesting practices.

“You have acknowledged in interviews with press that the work of Data Propria will be very similar to Cambridge Analytica,” the lawmakers wrote Thursday in a letter to Matt Oczkowski, the firm’s president who’s also former head of product at Cambridge Analytica. “The admitted overlap between the personnel and work of Cambridge Analytica and Data Propria raises serious concerns about Data Propria’s practices regarding the collection and use of Americans’ personal information.”

The firm is reportedly working with the Trump 2020 campaign.

The letter was signed by Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.) and Reps. Mike Doyle (Pa.) and Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), the top Democrats on the Communications Technology Subcommittee and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, respectively.

The lawmakers are seeking information on what data, if any, the company received from Cambridge Analytica, and it marks the latest step by members of Congress to scrutinize Cambridge Analytica’s actions.

The firm, which was employed by the Trump 2016 presidential campaign, improperly harvested data on 87 million Facebook users leading up to the election.