Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia Michael McEvoy said political parties have illicitly gathered the personal information of citizens within the province, StarMetro Vancouver reports. While political parties can conduct efforts to learn about voters, McEvoy said many attempts to do so happen without consent, a violation of provincial law. The commissioner cited canvassers who record symbols to hint at voters’ religious preferences or ethnicities. McEvoy said political parties have sent email addresses to Facebook in order for the social media company to find demographic patterns. “Essentially, they have to have the consent of people they’re collecting information from,” McEvoy said. “You need to ask permission. That’s the basis of the law.”
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