Protect and Teach: We’ve lodged a formal complaint with the ICO

The anti-trans pressure group Protect and Teach claim they are “protecting education from indoctrination” and “teaching children the truth”, but they won’t tell the truth about who they are or how they’re handling people’s data.

UK law says that any organisation collecting information about people and setting cookies on their computers must publish a privacy policy and declare who is responsible. And when a group is publishing wild claims about equality in schools that put young people at risk, this legal obligation is all the more important.

When a supporter contacted Good Law Project about Protect and Teach in February, we found there was no mention of a data controller. In fact there was no privacy policy at all. The site claimed to be “a bunch of ordinary men and women”. But it didn’t say who they are or where they’re based. This isn’t just an oversight, it’s breaking the law.

We told them about their legal obligations and they added a privacy policy. But they still didn’t say who is processing people’s information or where they’re based. The only clue is a line on the site that says “Location: UK”.

When we wrote to them again, pointing out that they were still breaking the law, they ignored us. So we have filed a formal complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

This isn’t some administrative error. It’s a familiar tactic that minority interests use to stoke division and push extreme views.

We’ve seen this before, with Restore Trust – a group that tried to push its divisive agenda at the National Trust. We forced them to reveal that they weren’t a grassroots group at all, they were backed by a company with links to the neoliberal think-tank the Institute of Economic Affairs.

A healthy democracy needs to know who’s trying to influence debate, particularly when the safety of children is at stake. If a group won’t say who they are or how they handle your data, it raises a vital question: what are they trying to hide? If your views are so toxic you won’t put your name to them, then maybe you shouldn’t be saying them at all.

People who are trying to change public policy must do it in the light of day. We’ll keep pushing to find out who’s behind Protect and Teach, so that teachers, parents and all of us know who’s pushing their poisonous ideas.