ABSTRACT
As data is taking an ever-increasing role in all of our lives and our lives translate ever more into electronic media and data, data has become an increasingly valuable asset. The challenge of who controls that data and what rights individuals have over data that concern them become problems of fundamental importance in our democratic societies. This chapter looks at the development of digital political campaigning and the role of personal data in political advertising, with a particular focus on the UK. It discusses the findings of the various inquiries into Facebook/Cambridge Analytica case and explores, more broadly, the impact of the data-brokering industry on political processes across the globe. It examines the current regulatory framework that applies to digital political campaigning in the UK and supports the recommendations made by the UK inquiries for improving the transparency in the uses of personal data in political processes.
