Reform UK may breach data laws with free energy bills competition
Reform UK risks breaching data protection laws with its competition to win free energy bills for a year, lawyers and data experts have warned,Nigel Farage announced the lottery on Tuesday as a way to advertise his latest policy to cut energy bills,The Reform leader encouraged British people to sign up via a website for a chance to have their energy bills paid for a year, as well as those of their entire street,To enter the competition, however, entrants have to disclose not only their name, email and telephone number, but also how they voted at the last election and how they intend to vote at the next one – something experts warned could be unlawful,Mariano delli Santi, legal and policy officer at Open Rights Group, a campaign for digital rights, said: “Reform are asking the public to hand over sensitive data about their voting habits without being transparent about how it will be used.
”Delli Santi said this appeared to be a clear breach of transparency obligations under UK data protection law,He added: “Political opinions are among the most sensitive types of personal data, and voters must be able to engage in campaigns without feeling pressured to trade their privacy for the chance of material benefit,The Information Commissioner’s Office [ICO] must investigate and take a stand against political parties exploiting data in this way,”Eleonor Duhs, a privacy barrister, said: “You have to be clear, open and honest about how and why you are collecting data and you shouldn’t be collecting more data than you need,If you say your purpose is a raffle, why are they asking for people’s voting intention? That seems to go beyond the purpose of the raffle.
“There are different categories of personal data under UK GDPR – your political opinions are given more protection than other sorts of data,There is a question mark about on what basis are they processing this data,The basis of which you can process this more sensitive data is very restrictive,I agree with the Open Rights Group,”A second lawyer, who did not want to be named, said: “One key principle is data minimisation which means data should only be collected that is necessary for the purposes – Reform should only be collecting what they need for the purposes of the prize draw.
“The form does ask for a number of datasets beyond which might be treated as necessary, such as political parties they intend to vote for or have voted for.”The party defended the contest.A spokesperson said: “We are entirely confident that this competition is legal.Reform UK is the only party serious about cutting energy bills.”The party also said the raffle complied with electoral laws, which forbid bribing voters to vote a certain way at an election.
Reform announced the lottery on Tuesday as the party promised to cut energy bills if it wins the next election by removing green levies and VAT from them,Robert Jenrick, Reform’s economic spokesperson, said: “If you give us your details on that website, in the next week or two, we’re going to draw one of those names and Nigel is going to come to your house and he’s going to pay your energy bills and those of everyone who lives on your street for an entire year,”Farage said his cuts to green levies would mean ripping up existing contracts with green energy producers, dismissing concerns that this could deter companies from investing in Britain in the future,“These people do not make money on their own, they only survive because of the subsidies,” he said,“We will break those contracts.
”A spokesperson for the ICO said: “All political parties collecting personal information, including information for political campaigning, need to comply with data protection law,“People who are concerned about how their information is being used by any political party can raise those concerns with the party, and if they remain dissatisfied can make a complaint to the ICO,We’re in regular contact with political parties about how they use people’s data,”
Oil price falls after Iraq ‘signs deal’ to resume exports via Turkey – business live
The Iraqi state news agency is reporting that Kirkuk has resumed pumping oil via Turkey’s Ceyhan port at a rate of 250,000 barrels.That would only be a fraction of the country’s normal output. Before the Iranian war began, Iraq was producing 4.5 million barrels of crude oil per day. But it was forced to slash output once tankers couldn’t travel safely through the strait of Hormuz
US postal service will run out of money by February 2027, says agency chief
The US Postal Service will run out of funds within a year, unless lawmakers lift a cap on how much money the agency can borrow, according to the postmaster general.In an interview with the Associated Press, David Steiner warned that the postal service – which relies on stamps and service fees rather than tax dollars to deliver mail six days a week to every address in the country – would run out of cash for employees and vendors by February next year.The agency has operated with a financial shortfall almost every fiscal year since 2007, as people and businesses have moved toward paperless billing and digital communication, forgoing first-class mail. But mail deliveries have continued, with USPS borrowing money from the US treasury to compensate for losses.Steiner, who is scheduled to testify before Congress this month, has called for changes to a federal law that caps the agency’s borrowing at $15bn
Instagram to remove end-to-end encryption for private messages in May
Instagram will stop encrypting private messages between users from May, after enduring years of criticism from law enforcement and child safety groups over the feature.Meta quietly announced this month on its help page for Instagram and in an updated 2022 news post that end-to-end encryption would no longer be available on direct messages between users on Instagram from 8 May 2026.It means Meta will be able to see the contents of messages between all users – which so far it only could for those who did not enable encryption.The feature already appeared deactivated for Australian users, when Guardian Australia tested on Wednesday.A spokesperson for Meta said the decision to abandon encryption was due to low uptake
Subnautica 2 publisher’s CEO used ChatGPT in failed bid to avoid paying US$250m bonus to own studio head, court hears
A South Korean gaming publisher who hatched a plan using ChatGPT to remove the heads of one of its own game studios in a bid to avoid paying US$250m has been ordered by a US court to reverse the removal.The dispute stems from South Korean game developer Krafton’s acquisition of Unknown Worlds Entertainment, makers of the Subnautica video game, for $500m in 2021.Krafton agreed the studio would remain independent and that its leadership would retain operational control and could only be fired for cause, according to the ruling by vice-chancellor Lori Will of the court of chancery in Delaware.If Unknown Worlds met certain targets, Krafton would pay the studio what is known as an earnout worth up to $250m.As the studio was last year ramping up to release Subnautica 2, internal projections showed it would trigger the earnout, according to the ruling
From the Pocket: Andrew Dillon needs authenticity and nuance, not AFL talking points
In 2023, the late Sam Landsberger wrote a piece in the Herald Sun recalling how Andrew Dillon came to work at the AFL. Dillon was driving down Punt Road in the early 2000s after playing a game for amateur club Old Xaverians. Senior AFL administrator Ben Buckley, who was recruiting for an in-house counsel, was in the next lane and spotted his former Xavs teammate. “Hey Dills,” he shouted across traffic, “you’re a lawyer, aren’t you?”A quarter of a century later, a line from North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson in an interview with Jay Clark jumped off the page on Sunday. “I spoke to Gil [McLachlan] on Tuesday night and he says: ‘This will all be resolved by the end of next week,’” Clarkson said
Venezuela 3-2 United States: World Baseball Classic final – as it happened
The USMark DeRosa does not deliver. His team barely squeaks by the DR in the semis and then falls short v Team Venezuela, with their team of studs unable to capitalize on Bryce Harper’s dramatic, eighth inning, two-run shot that tied the game. They never really hit in this tournament, despite the laundry list of talent up and down the lineup. Aaron Judge is once agains the poster boy for failing to come up with the big hits in big spots – he was hit-less tonight with three strikeouts. For all of Team USA, heading back to Spring Training, that is one bad way to start a very long season
Rachel Reeves reveals push for fiscal devolution to English regions, says Brexit caused damage, and admits student loan system is ‘broken’ – as it happened
Bentley to cut hundreds of UK jobs amid ‘challenging global market environment’
Australian households fear double whammy of rate hikes and higher petrol prices will lead to recession
London bars shun Margot Robbie’s gin over shellfish allergen concerns
Close Brothers banking group to cut 600 jobs and roll out AI ‘at pace’
Starbucks shareholders push to oust board members over stalled union talks