REFORM UK could face a legal battle from a prominent legal campaign group after being accused of "breaching voters’ data rights".
The Good Law Project, which is known for its high-profile court cases against the Westminster government, has sent a letter to the party pointing out that it has broken UK data laws. The letter marks the first formal step in legal proceedings.
It comes after a recent investigation by the Observer found that Reform UK’s website used a hidden tracking tool to collect private browsing data from visitors without asking permission. This data was then shared with Facebook for targeted advertising purposes.
In the run-up to the General Election, Nigel Farage’s party refused to tell people what data it had on them and ignored requests to delete that data, which it is required to do by law.
Almost all (96%) of the people surveyed by Good Law Project who used the tool to contact Reform UK said the party had failed to respond to their data requests.
The group will bring this claim as a "representative action" under the rarely used provisions of Article 80(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This article provides a new right for public interest organisations to represent victims of data protection infringements before the courts, provided they have officially nominated the organisation to take action on their behalf.
Pallas Partners LLP (Pallas), an elite litigation firm which represents individuals whose data rights have been breached, is representing Good Law Project in this matter. The group may widen the scope of the legal action.
Jo Maugham, executive director of Good Law Project, said: “The right not to be targeted by a political party matters. The right to know what personal data they have scraped matters. It may be convenient to Nigel Farage to portray his political party – funded by wealthy businessmen and those with business interests in Russia – as outsiders but he has to obey the law, just like everyone else.”
The Good Law Project has been well-known for a string of well-known legal cases against the UK Government, including the Covid “VIP” lane for PPE contracts, partygate and the 2019 prorogation of Parliament.
JS from Sussex, one of the claimants in the legal challenge who does not wish to be named, said: “I used to work in data protection and don’t object to organisations holding information about me because I know that the law allows me to see the data and correct it and that I have a right to consent to its use.
“I thought it was a good idea to ask the main political parties to tell me what info they have about me. I am concerned that while the others have acknowledged my requests, I have not heard anything from the Reform Party.
“I personally believe that the party, and its leader, issue statements that come close to breaking human rights laws – so I am particularly upset that they are not complying with my request now. I want to be sure that my data is not being used to benefit the party in any way.
“I am grateful to Good Law Project for following this up and I hope they manage to hold the Reform Party to account and insist they send me the data the law requires them to provide.”
Matt Getz, partner at Pallas Partners, said: “As a political party looking to craft the laws of our society, Reform UK must respect the rule of law, especially when they have used it to their own benefit.
“Although the leader of Reform UK brought an enquiry with the Information Commissioner’s Office against NatWest for data protection infringements in October 2023, the party has simply disregarded requests from many individual data subjects asking Reform UK why it is processing their data, and to stop doing so -- in violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
“The individuals have politely and reasonably asked Reform to abide by the law and stop doing this, but they have been ignored, making legal action necessary. Protecting the rights of individuals and ensuring that their personal data, much of it sensitive, is processed in accordance with the law, is crucial.”
Reform UK have been contacted for comment.
