London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

A Former Cambridge Analytica Employee Was Thrown Out Of Facebook’s New York Office

A Former Cambridge Analytica Employee Was Thrown Out Of Facebook’s New York Office

“My host said to me, ‘I don’t know what you’ve done in your private life, but you’re not allowed into this building.’”
Facebook security prevented a former employee of Cambridge Analytica from entering its New York headquarters for a happy hour last week, raising questions about the scope of the social media giant’s security blacklist and its policy toward people associated with the infamous data firm.

According to Robert Murtfeld, formerly the director of commercial sales for Cambridge Analytica, Facebook security guards took him aside last Thursday evening after he filled out his name in a digital check-in kiosk in the lobby of the company’s offices at 770 Broadway. The guards informed Murtfeld’s host, a communications executive at Facebook, that Murtfeld wouldn’t be allowed inside. Murtfeld, who did not know the host and told BuzzFeed News that he had never previously been inside any Facebook office, had been invited to the happy hour by a mutual friend who does not work at the company.

“My host said to me, ‘I don’t know what you’ve done in your private life, but you’re not allowed into this building,’” Murtfeld told BuzzFeed News.

It was likely Murtfeld’s public life that raised Facebook’s alarm. Murtfeld believes he was banned due to his association with Cambridge Analytica. It is unclear if that is correct, and if so whether the ban would extend to all of the political consulting firm’s employees - or its clients.

Facebook did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.

In 2018, the Observer and the New York Times reported that Cambridge Analytica inappropriately harvested personal information about tens of millions of US citizens through access to Facebook’s API. The revelation prompted intense scrutiny of Facebook’s data practices, as well as the role Cambridge Analytica - founded by billionaire Robert Mercer and former Breitbart executive and White House adviser Steve Bannon (who schemed to plant a mole at Facebook) - played in the 2016 US presidential election. The firm shut down in 2018, but Facebook has been repeatedly forced over the past two years to answer questions about the way third parties can use the platform’s scale and targeted advertising apparatus to influence voters.

Unlike the Cambridge Analytica whistleblowers Christopher Wylie and Brittany Kaiser, and the company’s former CEO, Alexander Nix, Murtfeld has not sought the spotlight. According to Murtfeld, his work at the data firm predominantly consisted of pitching corporations and political parties on the company’s services. A story last month in South Africa’s Sunday Times described an email sent from Murtfeld to Kaiser on Oct. 11, 2015, that “compiled a list of upcoming elections that could be targeted.” Murtfeld, who is now director of business development for a golf resort in New Jersey, told BuzzFeed News that his work never involved direct contact with Facebook.

Last year, CNBC reported on Facebook’s secretive 12-year-old “BOLO” — or “be on lookout” — list, a directory of hundreds of people whom Facebook’s security team considers a threat to the company and its employees. The story describes a similar incident to the one last week, in which an invited visitor was screened in the lobby of Facebook’s Menlo Park campus and temporarily prevented from entering. (The host eventually intervened with Facebook security and had the visitor removed from the “BOLO” list.)

The CNBC report focused primarily on individuals who had made menacing comments on Facebook. But Murtfeld’s rejection suggests that former Cambridge Analytica employees are also banned from the company’s offices. (Facebook has suspended the personal accounts of several people associated with Cambridge Analytica, including Wylie.) It also raises the broader possibility that Facebook’s list of personae non gratae is larger than previously thought, extending to entire corporations.

“I’m not a security threat,” Murtfeld said. “I thought the whole thing was outrageous.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×