Facebook sent members of a digital forensics firm Stroz Friedberg, to perform its own independent audit of Cambridge Analytica, but it has been told to “stand down” by the ICO.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said: "I think we should all be shocked by the new allegations."
She added: "Our office has been carrying out an investigation into political analytics, political profiling and micro-targeting for several months and we have heard similar allegations in our investigations.
"The issue of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica is only one strand of our investigation. It involves more than 30 organisations; social media companies, data analytics companies, political campaigns and political parties. It is a wide and comprehensive investigation so we can explain to the public what happens to their personal data during political campaigning."
Denham added that the ICO had issued a demand to access Cambridge Analytics' files on March 7, but the company has failed to respond. Facebook, on the other hand, has been "co-operating", she said.
"We need to get in [to Cambridge Analytica] to look at the databases and the servers and understand how data was processed and deleted. There are a lot of conflicting stories about the data."
Asked if the ICO has the resources, Denham responded: "We have prioritised this file. We have ten full-time staff on it. We can also use external forensic experts. We can bring in assistance when we need it.
"But the important part is that we get access to this data because there have been so many conflicting stories about where the data is and how it has flowed between all the companies involved."
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