ICO’s report updates investigation into the use of data analytics in political campaigns
On 6 November 2018 the ICO published it’s report to Parliament (Investigation into the use of data analytics in political campaigns A report to Parliament 6 November 2018).
The detailed report serves as an update to the ICO’s ongoing investigation into the use of data analytics for political purposes which commenced in May 2017 and whose scope has reached 30 organisations, 33 formal interviews and an astonishing 700 TB of data.
During the investigation the ICO made use of its full range of investigative powers and acted by issuing penalties and enforcement notices when appropriate, including the issuance of a fine to Facebook for a total of £500,000 which at the time was the maximum fine.
In questioning how transparency and democracy can be preserved in the future in light of new technologies and increased possibility for voter behaviour to be influenced, the ICO has expressed its doubts with respect to voluntary initiatives of social media platforms, believing that “a self-regulatory approach will not guarantee consistency, rigour or shore up public confidence” and therefore calling for a code of practice to manage the use of personal data in election campaigns in order to “simplify the rules and give certainty and assurance about using personal data as a legitimate tool in campaigns and elections.”
Such a Code would allow for data to be used lawfully in campaigns and would be akin to other codes enshrined in the Data Protection Act 2018.
Originally published on Paolobalboni.eu More blogs on Law Blogs Maastricht |
P. Balboni
Paolo Balboni is Professor of Privacy, Cybersecurity, and IT Contract Law at the European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity (ECPC) within the Maastricht University Faculty of Law. He graduated with a degree in Law from the University of Bologna (Italy) in 2001 and completed his Ph.D. in Comparative Technology Law at Tilburg University (The Netherlands) in 2008.

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