ICO Warns Tory Party over Telephone Campaign Breach

In the UK, the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) has warned the Conservative Party that any future voter telephone calls must be rigorously checked for questions that fall outside the bounds of market research.

In the summer, an undercover Channel 4 News investigation raised concerns about a Conservative Party campaign involving calls made by a firm called Blue Telecoms, led by failed Conservative council candidate Sascha Lopez. In the run up to May's snap general election, secret footage from polling day suggested that the Conservatives had broken election laws by paying Blue Telecoms' call centre workers to canvass on the party's behalf. According to an undercover Channel 4 reporter hired by the centre, for weeks before the election, up to a hundred people cold called thousands of potential voters in marginal seats, with some calls containing positive messages about Conservative Party leader Theresa May and negative messages about Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. All scripts had been provided directly by the Conservative Party.

When asked to analyse the undercover footage and recordings, Dr Darren Lilleker, Professor of Political Communications at Bournemouth University, told Channel 4 that in his opinion, certain calls were 'canvassing' and not research, describing some of the questions uses as 'loaded' and rhetorical, 'in the sense of guiding voters towards one answer'. 'These concerns prompted an ICO investigation into the campaign's compliance with data protection and electronic marketing law, and the ICO has now concluded that two sections of the written scripts used by those making the calls, 'crossed the line' from legitimate market research to unlawful direct marketing. As a result, the ICO has warned the Conservative Party to 'get it right next time', and says it will continue to keep an eye on all political parties in the run up to future elections, to ensure they comply with data protection and privacy laws when campaigning.

In a statement, Steve Eckersley, ICO Head of Enforcement, said. 'We've stopped short of formal regulatory action because the overall campaign was genuine market research. The two sections we had concerns about were not enough to trigger formal enforcement action when considered along with the campaign as a whole. In addition, the results of the survey were not saved against any individual, so they could not be targeted for future marketing.'

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.