One of the data companies Facebook is planning to remove from its ad-targeting program has come out swinging.
Acxiom CEO Scott Howe told Business Insider that Facebook is deliberately cutting off third-party data vendors to distract from its botched handling of the Cambridge Analytica mess.
''We are getting thrown under the bus,' Howe said. "This was a masterful political manipulation."
A lot of people are not happy with Facebook right now. Add Scott Howe to the list.
Howe is the president and CEO of Acxiom, which collects consumer data from a wide variety of sources - data that has been employed by marketers for decades. It's also one of the companies that Facebook said it plans to stop working with for ad targeting.
Late Wednesday, Facebook announced plans to wind down a program that enabled advertisers to use data from third-party companies — ranging from Oracle to Acxiom — to target its users with specific ads.
Facebook has positioned that move as being aimed at better protecting consumer privacy in light of the ongoing fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which came to light when The New York Times and The Guardian reported that it had improperly obtained user data on as many as 50 million Facebook users.
Howe said that Facebook didn't give Acxiom a heads up regarding the decision. Beyond that slight, Howe believes that Facebook is using Acxiom and its other data partners as scapegoats to distract from its own problems.
"We are getting thrown under the bus," Howe told Business Insider. "This was a masterful political manipulation."
Howe is livid that Facebook has moved to push out data partners, even though the Cambridge Analytica controversy didn't directly have anything to do with them. "The trouble was in Facebook managing its own data," he said. "And this doesn't actually offer individuals any more protection."
Acxiom pulls data from a wide variety of sources, including public records, consumer surveys, retail records, and other vehicles to help brands tap into profiles of consumers. Howe's argument is that his company's sole focus is on protecting consumer data.
"So to blame us is hypocritical," he said. "Their statements are also so inconsistent. This is really about their walled garden. They are forcing advertisers to be reliant on Facebook reporting only. It helps them consolidate more power."
"That is awful for advertisers."