Exclusive: New allegations over misuse of data by shady campaigning firm

Lib Dem Voice can exclusively reveal that urgent investigations are now underway after we uncovered what appears to be a further serious misuse of data in the EU referendum.

A mysterious private campaigning firm which calls itself Bainbridge Claptrap-Witterer is believed to have trawled the data of the now-defunct Lib Dem social network, Lib Dem Act. The site was wildly popular for a time around 2010 and is thought to have had a membership at one point running into double figures.

The firm, which is based on an industrial estate just outside of Leicester but is thought to have adopted the use of Bainbridge in its name to appeal to middle-class pro-remain campaigners, is understood have built a sophisticated model predicting propensity to support remaining in the EU based on users’ posts on Lib Dem Act.

The site was intended to act as a private space for party members to share campaigning tips and stories, but owing to the tendency of users just to upload photos of their dogs, data experts at the shadowy firm appear to have built a sophisticated model linking breed of dog to a range of European issues based on the data obtained from the profiles of literally a dozen users..

Speaking to Lib Dem Voice in response to the explosive allegations on the condition of anonymity, a spokesperson said, “What is Lib Dem Act?”

Further details on the extent of the breach are expected just after 12 noon today.

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5 Comments

  • Is this a April Fools joke ?

  • Richard Underhill 1st Apr '18 - 11:59am

    On Wednesday at PMQ a vicar’s daughter wished us all “A Happy Easter”.
    She should know that torture precedes redemption.
    On Easter Sunday Pope Francis the good wished us all a pleasant lunch.
    He also wants peace in Syria, calm in Korea.
    The “Good Friday” Agreement was preceded by two referendums, one north, one south.
    We must be careful to adhere to that.

  • … I think I still have an Act account

  • Tony Dawson 1st Apr '18 - 1:55pm

    Is this a cunning attack on ‘Connect’ by EARS team infiltrators? 😉

  • Peter Hirst 2nd Apr '18 - 2:32pm

    The best way of countering these misuses of data is to make the fine for proven infringements severe enough that it forces the companies out of existence. Even then, they can probably avoid the payments. Perhaps fines should follow the individual if their company disappears. It is only by preventing these breaches that we can have honest elections. Is this what the GDPR do?

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