With the seemingly constant stream of political crises, it can be difficult to get a handle on what’s going on in our democracy. Despite the tumult, we at Fair Vote UK remain focused on the impact of big data on elections. Misuse of new technologies will continue to harm the legitimacy of elections and trust in the democratic process if we don’t act now. This has taken us to Mississippi to pursue a case to prevent UK citizens’ data from being offshored (for more on this see here https://fairvote.uk/press-release-fair-vote-uk-launches-crowdfunder-to-fight-cambridge-analytica-related-data-case-against-arron-banks/).

Last month we hit our initial target of £10k and now are able to instruct the Carson Law Group in Mississippi to pursue further legal action against Arron Banks and his companies. This week, Fair Vote UK will restart its work with Carson Law Group to get a preservation order to secure voter data that is allegedly held in Mississippi by Eldon Insurance and/or Big Data Dolphins. The Carson Law Group has a rich history in working with clients in all areas of intellectual property law, including privacy.

This case could have important consequences for democracy. If this preservation order is obtained, it could set a precedent and open the door to other cases where individuals can seek to discover and repatriate illegally held data. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of any democracy. In this febrile political environment it is particularly important that the public can trust that no campaign is cheating.

We are just at the beginning of this journey and will continue to need your support. We now have a stretch target of £25k, which will cover the legal fees as the case unfolds. Please share, where you can, this crowdjustice link https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/data-arronbanks/ so that we can get the word out and establish more support.