Gosport election candidate accused of GDPR breach after using picture of child in campaign leaflet

Gosport’s Conservative candidate Caroline Dinenage has faced criticism after her election pamphlet included a photo of pupils at Crofton Anne Dale School.

While parents were asked for permission for the photographs to be used by news organisations, they say they weren’t informed that they could be used in political propaganda.

One father believes the use of the photo could also be a breach of GDPR guidelines, as the photo represents his child’s personal data, and the photo hasn’t been removed despite a formal request to Ms Dinenage’s office.

Ms Dinenage says she had a general permission to use photos she took on her visit, but a legal expert from the University of Portsmouth says this may not be specific enough consent to use in election marketing.

John Chinner, whose 10-year-old daughter Abigail is photographed, said: ‘When we signed the consent form for Abigail to be photographed, at no point did we agree that they could use pictures of her for political campaigns.

‘My wife and I have formally asked Ms Dinenage to stop using the photo, but a few days later we had her leaflet through our door with our own child’s face on it.’

Henry Pearce, a law lecturer at the University of Portsmouth, says there is a ‘plausible case’ for a GDPR breach.

He said: ‘Consent is one of a number of preconditions that can render the processing of personal data, including images, lawful. However, for consent to be valid, assuming it has been given at all, it must specify for what purpose the image is being used; in this case it sounds incredibly vague.

‘What’s more, the parent acting on behalf of the child would have a reasonable expectation that their child isn’t used in election marketing just because they happened to be at school that day.

‘If the parents have withdrawn consent then this picture should be removed, there are no two ways about it.’

Ms Dinenage says the image has now been withdrawn, but some election pamphlets had already been sent out for distribution.

She said: ‘We believe that we had the necessary permissions from the school to use this photo.

‘Indeed the mother of the child concerned positively commented when we posted the photo on Facebook 45 weeks ago and raised no complaint at that point.

‘Since the campaign started we have received an objection and have stopped using the image, however some items were already under distribution.

'We apologise for any offence caused.’

A spokeswoman from the ICO said: ‘As a public body the ICO has to consider its responsibilities during the pre-election period. Our regulatory work continues as usual but we will not be commenting publicly on every issue raised during the General Election.

‘We will however, 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.’