A Cambridge University professor at the heart of the Facebook privacy scandal says that the former CEO of data firm Cambridge Analytica lied to a British parliamentary committee investigating fake news.

Academic Aleksandr Kogan's company, Global Science Research, developed a Facebook app that vacuumed up information from users as well as additional data from their Facebook friends.

Ex-employees of Cambridge Analytica say the company used that data from millions of users to help Donald Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign. The company denies the charge.

Kogan told Parliament's media committee Tuesday that Cambridge Analytica's ex-CEO, Alexander Nix, lied in his testimony on their work together.

When asked by committee chair Damian Collins about Nix's testimony that none of his data came from Global Science Research, Kogan said, "That's a fabrication."

Last week, Cambridge Analytica's ex-CEO, Alexander Nix, has refused to testify before the U.K. Parliament's media committee, citing British authorities' investigation into his former company's alleged misuse of data from millions of Facebook accounts in political campaigns.

Committee Chairman Damian Collins announced Nix's decision a day before his scheduled appearance but flatly rejected the notion that he should be let off the hook, saying Nix hasn't been charged with a crime and there are no active legal proceedings against him.

"There is therefore no legal reason why Mr. Nix cannot appear," Collins said in a statement. "The committee is minded to issue a formal summons for him to appear on a named day in the very near future."

Alexander Nix, Cambridge Analytica
Alexander Nix, CEO of Cambridge Analytica arrives at the offices of Cambridge Analytica in central London, March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
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