Political groups warned to play by marketing rules in lead up to local and European elections
2 May 2014 12:32 PM
The Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has written to the main UK political parties
warning them about the need to follow data protection and electronic marketing
rules ahead of the European and local elections on 22
May
The Information Commissioner
Christopher Graham’s letter follows a number of concerns raised with the
ICO about the political parties’ use of market research surveys to gain
political support.
Genuine market research can be
carried out in order to help inform a party’s positioning and formulate
policies. However, communications claiming to be research that are also
intended to canvass support now or in the future are covered by the Privacy and
Electronic Communications Regulations. The regulations apply to all electronic
marketing, including texts, calls and emails.
Christopher Graham
said:
“This is about the
political parties demonstrating best practice, and being open and upfront with
voters about their marketing activities, explaining to people in a transparent
way how their personal details will be used.
“The rules apply to
political parties, just as they do to businesses and charities. In
communicating with voters, the parties need to be clear about what their
intentions are and why they are asking people for their information. We
don’t need election campaigns featuring nuisance calls, spam texts and
canvassing under the guise of ‘research’.”
The ICO has produced detailed guidance for campaign groups explaining the
data protection and electronic marketing rules. The guidance states that
campaigning organisations must:
• only send marketing
emails, texts or make automated telephone calls to people who have consented to
being contacted;
• identify themselves and provide an easy way to opt-out of future
direct marketing at all times;
• be clear on whether they are carrying out market research (seeking
someone’s opinions) or political campaigning (seeking to persuade them to
vote a certain way); and
• be extremely careful when using ‘viral marketing’ that
encourages individuals to contact friends and family on the
organisation’s behalf.
Read Christopher
Graham's letter in full (pdf)
ENDS
If you need more information,
please contact the ICO press office on 0303 123 9070 or visit the website
at: www.ico.org.uk.
Notes to
Editors
1. The Information
Commissioner’s Office upholds information rights in the public interest,
promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
2. The ICO is on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Read more in the ICO blog and e-newsletter. Our Press Office page provides more
information for journalists.
3. Anyone who processes personal information must comply with eight
principles of the Data Protection Act, which make sure that personal
information is:
• Fairly and lawfully
processed
• Processed for limited purposes
• Adequate, relevant and not excessive
• Accurate and up to date
• Not kept for longer than is necessary
• Processed in line with your rights
• Secure
• Not transferred to other countries without adequate
protection
4. The ICO’s Guide to the Privacy and
Electronic Communications Regulations provides organisations with
practical advice on how to comply with the law that covers electronic marketing
messages.