The unconstitutional enabling of political parties to collect data about political opinions

Abstract

On 22 May 2019, the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional Article 58 bis (1). This provision, incorporated into Organic Law 5/1985, of 19, June on the General Electoral System by Organic Law 3/2018 of 5 December on the Protection of Personal Data and Guarantee of Digital Rights was appealed by the Ombudsman. The unconstitutionality of article 58 bis is based on a triple violation of the right to data protection in connection with article 53.1 of the Constitution: the absence of a defined purpose that justifies interference in the right to data protection, the lack of clear limits and the legislator’s failure to regulate an adequate framework of guaran-tees.