ICO consultation on the draft framework code of practice for the use of personal data in political campaigning

It is vital in any democratic society that political parties, candidates and campaigners are able to communicate effectively with voters. But it is equally vital that all organisations involved in political campaigning use personal data in a way that is transparent, understood by people and lawful.

Our current guidance on political campaigning is outdated. It has not been updated since the introduction of the GDPR and does not reflect modern campaigning practices.

We have therefore drafted and are now consulting on a new framework code of practice  for the use of personal data in political campaigning. This will serve both as helpful guidance in its own right as well as having the potential to become a statutory code of practice if the relevant legislation is introduced. 

The framework code of practice does not introduce new requirements for campaigners but seeks to explain and clarify data protection and electronic marketing laws as they already stand. It also seeks to provide practical guidance and useful examples on ways campaigners could comply with their obligations whilst carrying out common political campaigning activities.

Before drafting the framework code, the Information Commissioner launched a call for views in October 2018, seeking input from people and various organisations. You can view a summary of the responses and individual responses from organisations. 

The draft framework code is now out for public consultation and will remain open until Friday 4 October 2019.

You can respond to the consultation via our online survey , or you can download the document below and email politicalcampaigning@ico.org.uk.

Alternatively, print off the document and post to:

If you wish to make any comments not covered by the questions in the survey or you have any general queries about the consultation, please email us at politicalcampaigning@ico.org.uk

Privacy Statement

For this consultation, we will publish all responses except for those where the respondent indicates that they are an individual acting in a private capacity (e.g. a member of the public). All responses from organisations and individuals responding in a professional capacity will be published. We will remove email addresses and telephone numbers from these responses; but apart from this, we will publish them in full.

For more information about what we do with personal data please see our privacy notice.