ago. he alleges the social media site threatened to sue a newspaper to keep the story out of headlines. facebook knew about cambridge analytic s scheme since 2015. before story broke, facebook threatened to sue the guardian and then banned me for whistle blowing. responding on behalf of the british government, the u.k. secretary of state for culture called my ban outrageous. because it reveals the unrestrained power technology companies can exercise over ordinary citizens when a person s entire online presence can be so quickly and so thoroughly eliminated from existence. there is no check on this power and it raises a serious question for republicans and democrats alike. what happens to our democracy when these companies can delete people at will when they speak out? you probably recognize christopher wiley, former cambridge analytica employee at today s senate hearing. it took place hours after the new york times reported cambridge analytica is being investigated by the fbi and