Out-Law News 1 min. read
Liberal Democrats broke privacy laws with 250,000 calls
26 Sep 2008, 3:29 pm
The Liberal Democrats broke anti-spam laws by placing 250,000 automated telephone calls last week without prior consent, according to the UK's privacy chief. If the party continues placing such calls, it has been warned that it could face prosecution.
The calls, featuring a recorded message from party leader Nick Clegg, were made to households across the UK. Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said that the calls breached the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
Thomas concluded that the calls were made for the purpose of promoting the Liberal Democrats and therefore constituted direct marketing.
He ruled yesterday that the party should not have called anyone without their prior consent and rejected claims by senior party members that the calls were for “genuine market research”, not promotion.
The Information Commissioner's Office said that 26 members of the public had complained and that the party should have been aware of the Regulations and of the Commissioner’s previous rulings.
These include a ruling in 2006 against the Scottish Nationalist Party by the Information Tribunal, which said that the anti-spam laws cover political parties when they canvass support by telephone.
This dismissed the SNP’s appeal against an earlier ruling by the Information Commissioner after ‘robocalls’ containing a recorded message from Sir Sean Connery urging voters to support the SNP were made to voters who had not given their consent.
The SNP complained to the Information Commissioner last week after the Liberal Democrats employed automated calls.
Deputy Information Commissioner David Smith said: “The ICO has consistently made clear that the promotion of a political party counts as marketing.”
He added: “We have previously issued detailed guidance to all major political parties on this subject. Many people find unsolicited automated calls particularly intrusive and annoying so it is important that any organisation making such calls ensures that individuals have given their consent before they are targeted.”
The Liberal Democrats have been ordered to stop such calls within 30 days. Breach of an Enforcement Notice is a criminal offence and could lead to prosecution. The party has a right to appeal within 28 days.
