A RESIDENT in Dursley said that he has received a cold call from the Conservative party which may have broken data protection rules.
Matt Nicholson, who lives in Highfields, is registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).
Calls to TPS numbers on behalf of political parties are prohibited by EU regulations and the Data Protection Act, unless the person called has specifically given the organisation their consent.
"I received a cold call on behalf of the Conservative party last night, but my phone is registered with the TPS," he said.
"They wanted to talk to me about the general election.
"I kept repeating to them that my phone was TPS registered and that they should not be calling me, but they wouldn't give up.
"The Conservative Party should not be calling me, it's in breach of TPS rules and GDPR rules."
An Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) spokesperson said: “We will be closely monitoring how personal data is being used during political campaigning and making sure that all parties and campaigns are aware of their responsibilities under data protection and direct marketing laws.”
See: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/be-data-aware/political-campaigning-practices-direct-marketing/
The Conservative Party have been approached for comment.
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