back to article Brit privacy watchdog reports on political data harvests: We've read the lot so you don't have to

Cambridge Analytica had data ferreted away on disconnected servers, Twitter actually kicked the firm's ads off its platform, and Facebook still has a lot of questions to answer. Also, British political parties used software to guess voters' ethnicities. These were some of the findings of the UK's Information Commissioner's …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Data sold to Experian, will it end up traded to Facebook?

    Seems likely as Experian / Facebook are data-partners / data-brokers. If so, just more gut-wrenching unintended consequences of data sharing.

    ~~~~~~~~~~

    "Emma's Diary faces fine for selling new mums' data to Labour - BBC News - A company that offers pregnant women and new parents health advice and gifts, faces a fine for illegally sharing more than a million people's personal data with the Labour Party. It said Lifecycle Marketing had sold the data for use in the 2017 general election campaign without disclosing it might do so. - The ICO said that on 5 May 2017, Lifecycle Marketing has supplied 1,065,200 records to the data broker Experian Marketing Services for use by Labour. - Each record included: the name of the parent who had joined Emma's Diary their home address whether children up to the age of five were present the birth dates of the mother and children - Emma's Diary is promoted by the Royal College of General Practitioners among others, and its information packs are distributed by many GPs and midwives. - It added that there may also have been a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights."

    ~~~~~~~~~~

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44794635

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Perhaps the more scary news is how / why Facebook can now live without Data-Brokers:

      Looks like the 100's / 1000's of Data-Science Ph.D's at Facebook have figured out a way to infer the same Meta-data for grouping and advertising purposes. So usurping / avoiding having to pay the Data-Brokers. The BBC's other article today:

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44793247

    2. eldakka

      Re: Data sold to Experian, will it end up traded to Facebook?

      Interesting stories from BBC about Emma's Diary and then the other stories linked to that on the whole data sharing situation, thanks for the link.

      But one thing that piques my interest is I wonder if the selling of the data by the collectors like Emma's Diary is in breach of their own policies?

      Experian is not a marketing company, it is a data broker, it does not use the data sold to them for marketing - it onsells it. So if the privacy policy says that they use the data for marketing, and fails to mention sales to data brokers, wouldn't that be a breach?

      1. BebopWeBop

        Re: Data sold to Experian, will it end up traded to Facebook?

        Quite. But it does not stop them being a slimy group of bastards who need to be stopped - preferably with chaincutters to the balls (the male ones obviously)

  2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Unhappy

    CA will rise again.

    Like those f**kers at Phorn, they will rise. New name, same staff, same business.

    The only way to tear the heart out of such business is to make their collection processes a criminal offense.

    Or maybe just tear the hearts out of Board members,

    With a chain saw.

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: CA will rise again.

      They've already risen...

    2. Mark 85

      Re: CA will rise again.

      Or maybe just tear the hearts out of Board members,

      May I suggest that they use a rusty spoon?

      There's a problem with companies like this.. they can't be killed or destroyed. They return from the "dead" like zombies and carry on. And the companies mentioned so far in all the news reports (including those on El Reg) are just the ones that have been called out. It's probable there's many, many more flying under the radar at this point.

      1. BebopWeBop
        Happy

        Re: CA will rise again.

        Boltcutters to the balls (see earlier post)

  3. Chris G

    Not only

    Do they continuously resurrect themselves but the publicity ( bad or otherwise) brings them to the attention of other players such as the various intelligence gatherers who are more than happy to recruit them and help to keep them working.

  4. DCFusor
    Holmes

    interesting

    That all this sturm und drang only happens when people don't vote the way the unelected bureaucrats wish. It's not like the political system was clean till just now.

    1. Cpt Blue Bear

      Re: interesting

      And we'd have got away with it if it wasn't for those pesky unelected bureaucrats and their stupid dog.

      1. VinceH

        Re: interesting

        Wuh woh!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If you ever wondered

    why when using certain comparison websites for car insurance you get quotes for ridiculous amounts from Insurance brands you have never heard of look no further than everyone's favourite former Belizian trade envoy to Wales!

    Its a great way to harvest data, as long as they quote they get your data and they know you won't pay £12,000 for a £300 insurance policy so they can set the parameters and quote for everyone. Plus they know the data is of good quality because its for an insurance quote.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: If you ever wondered

      A very good point. And though I am normally susicious (and don't look for insurance quotes beyond a few companies - but hey they could be selling it as well) a very good one,

    2. Graham Cobb Silver badge

      Re: If you ever wondered

      Good thought. I already never "click through" to the supplier I am interested in -- I go to their website and start again (mainly because I am bolshie and if they won't offer an equally good price to someone not using a comparison site then I won't do business with them). But I will now make sure I give fake details (name, address, DOB, etc) to the comparison site -- close enough that I should get roughly the same quote but not enough to identify or contact me.

    3. John Crisp

      Re: If you ever wondered

      See this article by Carole Cadwalladr who has been like a dog with a bone in her relentless pursuit of this story. All credit to her. If you've followed her for the last few years it has been an amazing roller coaster ride.

      Whatever the outcome of Brexit, I sincerely hope that Banks, Wigmore, Farage & a number of others end up with a long stay somewhere unpleasant at Her Majestys pleasure, which is where they belong.

      https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/apr/21/arron-banks-insurance-personal-data-leave-eu

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