MLA sanctioned over election messages

WEST Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan, has been sanctioned after the Independent Commissioners Office (ICO) found he and his staff used people’s personal data without consent for campaigning purposes.

The SDLP man had accessed people’s information through a petition he and his office ran to reduce the speed limit outside St Conor’s Primary School in Omagh. Without authorisation, his office used the numbers and texted people urging them to vote for him on the day of the Assembly Election in May. A number of people who were too young to vote and were minors were also contacted.

A constituent of the West Tyrone representative lodged a complaint to the ICO stating that they had received one of these texts.

The ICO found that Mr McCrossan and his office did not comply with data protection obligations because he failed to obtain explicit consent to use an individual’s personal data for the purposes of electronic marketing, which includes political campaigns.

An SDLP spokesperson said Mr McCrossan’s campaign, “trialled a new service during the election” but accepted that it did not comply with ICO guidelines.

“Mr McCrossan takes these issues seriously, accepts the Information Commissioner’s advice and has already taken steps to strengthen these arrangements.”