Election campaign does not exempt from data protection

The President of the Personal Data Protection Office, Miroslaw Wróblewski, appeals to politicians - candidates and their election committees - not to forget the need to take care of the principles of personal data protection and not to disclose citizens' data when competing for the highest office in the country.

Being a public figure, especially a politician seeking the votes of the electorate in a campaign for the office of President of the Republic of Poland, does not exempt one from the need to apply data protection principles. Quite the contrary. Politicians should be expected to have the highest standards and set good examples in the area of data protection.

The Office analyses cases of disclosure of personal data in accordance with its competences and applicable law and deals with further such cases ex officio. Indeed, it should be noted that as a result of the nationwide campaign, the disclosure of personal data has a particularly wide reach, the data shared are exposed to multiplication by traditional, electronic and social media, and the risks for individuals are consequently significantly increased.

It should also be recalled that data subjects have the right to lodge a complaint with the President of the Personal Data Protection Office.

We take this opportunity to once again encourage all participants in the electoral process to familiarise themselves with the Personal Data Protection Office's guide ‘Personal Data Protection in the Election Campaign’, which discusses, among other things, the principles concerning the processing of personal data in the electoral process or the obligations of controllers, election administration and election committees in this regard.