UK’s ICO Pushes for Increased Transparency around Political Advertising on Social Media Platforms
Not long after the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) stated
their intent to review current rules relating to the placement and nature of political advertisements on social media platforms, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have revealed their plans to follow suit,
seeking an increased level of transparency around such ads and their use of
personal data.
Information commissioner Elizabeth Deham said visibility
into ad targeting systems is needed so that people can exercise their rights -
such as withdrawing consent to their personal data being processed should they
wish.
“Data protection is not a back-room, back-office issue
anymore,” said Ms Deham. “It is right at the centre of these debates about our
democracy, the impact of social media on our lives and the need for these
companies to step up and take their responsibilities seriously.
“What I am going to suggest is that there needs to be
transparency for the people who are receiving that message, so they can
understand how their data was matched up and used to be the audience for the
receipt of that message. That is where people are asking for more transparency.”
The aforementioned comments were made by the commissioner
during an evidence session in front of a UK parliamentary committee, which has
been given the role of investigating the influence of digital advertising and
so-called ‘fake news’ on the political process. Ms Deham went on to say during
the same address that her office is preparing their own report and accompanying
recommendations this spring, expected to be published in May.
“We want more people to participate in our democratic life
and democratic institutions, and social media is an important part of that, but
we also do not want social media to be a chill in what needs to be the commons,
what needs to be available for public debate,” she said.
“We need information that is transparent, otherwise we will
push people into little filter bubbles, where they have no idea about what
other people are saying and what the other side of the campaign is saying. We
want to make sure that social media is used well.
“It has changed dramatically since 2008. The Obama campaign
was the first time that there was a lot of use of data analytics and social
media in campaigning. It is a good thing, but it needs to be made more
transparent, and we need to control and regulate how political campaigning is
happening on social media, and the platforms need to do more.”
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UK’s ICO Pushes for Increased Transparency around Political Advertising on Social Media Platforms
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Thursday, March 08, 2018
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Reviewed by Unknown
on
Thursday, March 08, 2018
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Unknown
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