The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched a new "Be Data Aware" campaign to help people understand how organisations might be using their personal data to target them online and why, and how people can control who is targeting them. This includes, understanding how organisations use people’s data to reach them with social media adverts to market their goods or services and for political marketing.
One of the recommendations from the ICO's investigation into the use of data analytics for political purposes, was to continue to educate the public on the impact of new and developing technologies and on the use of data analytics in political campaigns. The Be Data Aware campaign is intended to do just that.
The campaign includes a number of resources, such as downloadable factsheets on social media privacy settings (with individual fact sheets available covering each of the main social media websites, e.g. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), how online microtargeting works and political campaigning practices.