Political parties, candidates may face penalties for unauthorized use of voters’ data

“Political parties and candidates, in their capacity as personal information controllers, should at all times uphold the data subject rights of voters, and provide mechanisms for exercising rights,” Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro said in a statement. (File Photo: National Privacy Commission/Facebook)

The National Privacy Commission (NPC) on Friday, May 10, warned political parties and candidates for the 2019 midterm elections that they may face penalties for using voters’ personal data without authority.

“Political parties and candidates, in their capacity as personal information controllers, should at all times uphold the data subject rights of voters, and provide mechanisms for exercising rights,” Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro said in a statement.

“They have the obligation to ensure that all personal data processing related to any of their partisan political activity satisfy the criteria for lawful processing as provided for in the DPA (Data Privacy Act of 2012),” he added.

Liboro’s remarks came after some individuals, through social media posts, said that they received from candidates a “precinct locator” or “voter’s information” card printed with their personal data such as name, complete residential address, and birthdate, among others.

“Concerns were raised over the possibility that these candidates may be processing voter personal data without authority,” Liboro said.

The NPC, he added, is already looking into the incident to determine whether such election-related processing of personal data complies with the standards of the DPA.

“Failure to uphold data subject rights in processing voter information may subject political parties and candidates to penalties for possible violations of the DPA,” Liboro warned.

The commission also encouraged the public to be aware of their data privacy rights as well as be vigilant whenever their personal data is processed.

If they think their data privacy rights were violated, the NPC said they may complain by sending an email to complaints@privacygov.ph.

The 2019 midterm elections will be held on Monday, May 13, where Filipino voters will have to elect new senators, party-list groups, and local officials.