ICO warns campaigners over data protection ahead of referendum and elections

The Information Commissioner’s Office has warned political parties and campaigners to respect data protection laws in the run-up to the UK-wide voting referendum and local and national elections on 5 May.

The referendum on the UK voting system coincides with local elections in England and Northern Ireland as well as elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The ICO urged campaigners to read its latest guidance on the issues, which sets out the legal requirements that must be followed by campaigners when they are using direct mail, emails, text messages, phone canvassing and automated phone calls.

“The guidance also clarifies where campaigners need consent, as well as outlining other legal requirements that campaigners must fulfil in order to stay within the law,” the watchdog said.

The ICO pointed out that it had previously taken regulatory action against the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party (SNP) for breaches of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.

The Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, said: “Modern election campaigns make use of modern communications channels. The stakes are high as political parties and campaign workers seek to influence the 47 million UK citizens eligible to vote on 5 May. But this does not mean that campaigners can forget their legal responsibilities to respect people’s privacy rights.”

Graham added that the ICO would be monitoring the activities of campaigners to ensure they are meeting their legal requirements and that everybody plays by the rules.”