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Data protection commissioner admonishes PL over unsolicited e-mailshots
Commissioner to carry out onsite inspections to ascertain all personal data gets legally obtained.
5 March 2013, 12:00am
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
1 min read
The IPDC said it had received three complaints of email communication from the Labour Party's mailing list, in which it was alleged that the PL had acquired and used email addresses to send unsolicited communication.
The complaints were sent in by Alternattiva Demokratika spokesperson on foreign affairs and candidate Arnold Cassola.
In a meeting with the IDPC, Labour said that it had embarked on an extensive project to ensure compliance with data protection laws, and that the email addresses of the three complainants had been deleted from the PL's database.
The PL denied having had "acquired the whole database of University email addresses."
The IDPC found that the PL had not provided any documented evidence showing that the complainants' email addresses had been obtained with their consent, or who they were obtained in the first place; and that Labour had failed to demonstrate that such email communications were in compliance with the law.
"The Commissioner admonishes the PL and advises that any similar violation will attract an administrative fine... the PL should take the necessary measures to ensure that all email addresses in their database comply [with the law]."
The IPDC said Labour must be in a position to confirm that all addresses are supported by documentary evidence proving they were obtained with the informed consent of individuals, and that the Commissioner will carry out onsite inspections in future.
Emmanuel Mallia •
On friday we will still be bombarded with electoral mail shots ! This is typical with PN candidates !!
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I was hoping that Arnold Cassola would have done the same with the PN. AD is trying to please the PN so that they will not go through a similar scenario like the 2008 election?
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A photograph of a person with a disability was taken without consent and used in the PN’s electoral manifesto. A formal complaint was duly submitted to the Information Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC), the IDPC did not even bother to send this person an acknowledgement! So selective of the Data Protection Commissioner.
Igor P. Shuvalov •
What about the Nationalist Party? I have been receiving mailshots and telephone calls from the Nationalist Party. I never gave my e.mail and telephone mumber to the Nationalist Party or its candidates.
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What the bell, I am getting unsolicited mailsots from gonzipn and the district candidates do you hear me complaining? Why is the trap brought every time?
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I am astonished that the Data Protection Commissioner has admonished the PL but not the PN. I receive daily dozens of unsolicited emails from PN candidates offering me all sorts of free rides to Gozo, Sliema, Cottonera etc. to say the least. As it is, I simply delete them. But this is as good a case for the Data Commissioner as ever. Failure to take action against PN candidates for their unsolicited mail can be construed as political bias against one single party.
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I have received several unsolicit3d email by PN so let us be honest and accept that both big paries ar2 sending thousands of unsolicited emails
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The data protection officer is not there to protect the governing party by letting every accusation against the PN go by as if nothing is happening and at the same time vets with a magnifying glass whatever the PL is doing.
Some decency is expected from the DPO.
