Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Brexit Party under investigation
The Guardian reports that Nigel Farage’s Brexit party is being investigated for allegedly failing to answer requests for data it holds on some voters. They say that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is looking into complaints that the party did not hand over information through the subject access request system:
The subject access requests were sent to the Brexit party earlier this year and typically take a month to respond to. Anyone can ask an organisation that holds data what personal details they might have relating to them.
A Brexit party spokesperson told Sky News: “During the European elections, there was a coordinated attempt by campaigners to flood the Brexit party with subject access requests.” A source added: “It was a deliberate attempt to make it impossible to campaign.”
An ICO spokesperson said: “Our regulatory work continues as usual but we will not be commenting publicly on every issue raised during the general election. We will, however, be closely monitoring how personal data is being used during political campaigning and making sure that all parties and campaigns are aware of their responsibilities under data protection and direct marketing laws.”
Irrespective of the volume of the requests, all political parties should be geared up to respond to these requests expeditiously. The fact that the Brexit Party does not appear to be able to respond in good time does not engender much confidence in their data management.
The subject access requests were sent to the Brexit party earlier this year and typically take a month to respond to. Anyone can ask an organisation that holds data what personal details they might have relating to them.
A Brexit party spokesperson told Sky News: “During the European elections, there was a coordinated attempt by campaigners to flood the Brexit party with subject access requests.” A source added: “It was a deliberate attempt to make it impossible to campaign.”
An ICO spokesperson said: “Our regulatory work continues as usual but we will not be commenting publicly on every issue raised during the general election. We will, however, be closely monitoring how personal data is being used during political campaigning and making sure that all parties and campaigns are aware of their responsibilities under data protection and direct marketing laws.”
Irrespective of the volume of the requests, all political parties should be geared up to respond to these requests expeditiously. The fact that the Brexit Party does not appear to be able to respond in good time does not engender much confidence in their data management.
