United Kingdom Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham has highlighted challenges facing access to information oversight bodies that are responsible for the protection of citizens personal information during election periods.
The Commissioner was at the centre of holding accountable Cambridge Analytica and Facebook during what has been termed the biggest data breach case to date.
Up to now, the UK Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has spent £2.5 million (about R47 million) in the Cambridge Analytical case, Denham explains.
She has lamented that budget constraints and lack of capacity are hindering Information Commissioners from executing their mandate effectively.
However Denham notes that the ICO in the UK is in a better position budget-wise than its counterparts in other countries. She says without adequate budgets, it will be difficult to hold multi-nationals (like Facebook) that have access to citizens personal data to account.
“As seen in the Cambridge Analytica case, personal data protection bodies have a daunting task of making sure citizens data is not abused during elections,” she says.
The British Commissioner is attending the International Conference for Information Commissioners held this week in Midrand, north of Johannesburg.
Watch below Elizabeth Denham says:
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