ICO Orders UK Political Parties to Improve Data Practices

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has set out how seven political parties need to improve the way they handle people's personal data, following what it describes as 'significant concerns' about transparency around how this data has been used in political campaigning.

According to the ICO, political parties may legitimately hold personal data belonging to millions of people to help them campaign effectively; but developments in the use of data analytics and social media by political parties mean that many voters are unaware of how their data is being used. After data protection concerns were raised in the ICO's 2018 report 'Democracy Disrupted?', the ICO audited data protection compliance by the Conservative Party; the Labour Party; the Liberal Democrats; the Scottish National Party (SNP); the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP); Plaid Cymru; and United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).

Specific actions now required include providing the public with clear information at the outset about how their data will be used, and telling individuals when parties use intrusive profiling - such as combining information about those individuals from several different sources to find out more about their voting characteristics and interests. In addition, parties must be transparent when using personal data to profile and then target people with marketing via social media platforms; and parties must be able to show how they meet their obligations to protect people's rights. Checks must be carried out on all contracted and potential processors and third-party suppliers to gain assurances that they comply with the transparency, security, and accountability requirements of data protection law. Failure to take the appropriate steps could result in further regulatory action.

The seven parties have now committed to making the improvements necessary to comply with the law and make their data processing more transparent, which the ICO will monitor for effectiveness. In the 2018 report's foreword, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said: 'Society benefits from political parties that want to keep in touch with people, through more informed voting decisions, better engagement with hard to reach groups and the potential for increased engagement in democratic processes. But engagement must respect obligations under the law. All political parties must use personal information in ways that are transparent, understood by people and lawful, if they are to retain the trust and confidence of electorates.'

Web site: www.ico.org.uk .

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