#DeleteFacebook campaign gets massive support from celebs post data leak scandal

The campaign, #DeleteFacebook, has turned out be successful as several well-known personalities from across the globe have quit the social networking giant post the data leak scandal. The latest celebrity to join the #DeleteFacebook campaign is Bollywood actor-director Farhan Akhtar.

On Tuesday morning, Akhtar tweeted to inform his followers about his decision to delete his Facebook account. "Good morning. This is to inform you all that I have permanently deleted my personal Facebook account. However, the verified FarhanAkhtarLive page is still active," Akhtar wrote.

Good morning. This is to inform you all that I have permanently deleted my personal Facebook account.

However, the verified FarhanAkhtarLive page is still active.

— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) March 27, 2018

Before Akhtar, Elon Musk (CEO of SpaceX), Cher (singer) and Jim Carrey (actor) had left Facebook. Although Akhtar has not given specific reasons for deleting his Facebook account, however, it is clear that the social networking giant is facing the ire of users after Cambridge Analytica data leak scandal rocked the whole world.

The British firm allegedly used the private data of more than five crore Facebook users to influence voters during the United States President Donald Trump's election campaign in 2016.

Along with breach of trust of users for sharing their data without consent, Facebook is feeling "political" heat for giving data to the third party for electoral gains. After the scandal came to light, #DeleteFacebook campaign gained momentum.

The #DeleteFacebook campaign was started by one of the co-founders of WhatsApp, Brian Acton. Earlier, Facebook bought WhatsApp. Acton is no more a part of the company he co-founded. In a post on Twitter on Tuesday, Acton told his followers to delete Facebook. "It is time," Acton wrote, adding the hashtag #deletefacebook.

It is time. #deletefacebook

— Brian Acton (@brianacton) March 20, 2018

As a damage control measure, Facebook founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Mark Zuckerberg, took out full-page advertisements in several British and American newspapers on Sunday to apologise to millions of users.

The data scandal has a worldwide implication as reportedly Indian political parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress used the service of Cambridge Analytica during past elections. Both the top Indian political parties have denied having any links with the now disgraced British firm but accused each other of hiring services of Cambridge Analytica.

OneIndia News