Do As I Say Not As I Do

Here’s an interesting piece from the Washington Post about data privacy and modern political campaigning. It’s practically old news by now, but the Obama campaign’s use of personal data may be the reason the President won a second term. Count on that strategy being a major part of future campaigns across the country. Now here’s the troubling part. Those campaigns aren’t subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission. If a private entity leaks personally identifiable data, the FTC can take action. But if a campaign leaks that personal information, accidentally or on purpose, the FTC is more like the Federal Toothless Commission. So, what do you think? Should campaigns be using that kind of targeted data? And if so, should there be some oversight? If not the FTC, how about the Federal Election Commission? And considering that any change in the law would have to come from elected politicians, who probably want to use that data, what are the odds of anything changing?