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B.C. tech firm denies lying to committee probing Facebook data scandal

Jeff Silvester of AggregateIQ says Victoria company did nothing wrong during 2016 Brexit referendum
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Jeff Silvester of AggregateIQ appears at Commons ethics committee on the breach of personal information involving Cambridge Analytica and Facebook in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

A senior executive of a B.C.-based technology firm is denying accusations from MPs that the company misled a probe of Canadian connections to an international Facebook data controversy.

Jeff Silvester of AggregateIQ says the Victoria company did nothing wrong when it helped groups pushing for the U.K. to leave the European Union with online advertising campaigns during the 2016 Brexit referendum.

The company has been accused of lying to MPs on two separate occasions — first from whistle-blower Christopher Wylie, and later from a security researcher.

READ MORE: B.C., federal privacy watchdogs to probe possible privacy breaches at Aggregate IQ, Facebook

READ MORE: B.C. Green Party says data safe after contract with AggregateIQ

Silvester is calling Wylie’s accusations that the company was involved in illegal activity astonishing, and says AggregateIQ has been fully transparent with the Commons ethics and privacy committee.

Silvester testified alone before the committee during a three-hour hearing peppered with pointed questions from MPs of all political stripes.

AggregateIQ CEO Zack Massingham, who had been scheduled to testify, didn’t appear due to unspecified health reasons — leaving committee members contemplating whether to hold him in contempt of Parliament.

The Canadian Press

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