Stavanger Labour Party faces scrutiny over politically charged emails from Norwegian Data Protection Authority

The Stavanger Labour Party is under scrutiny after receiving a preliminary reprimand from the Norwegian Data Protection Authority for sending politically charged emails last year. The emails were disseminated using the domain rodgrontstavanger.no by the majority parties in Stavanger at the time, which included the Labour Party, Folkets Parti, MDG, Rødt, SV, and Sp.

Dag Mossige, the group leader for the Stavanger Labour Party, acknowledged the need to respond to the authorities’ concerns but emphasized the importance of carefully reviewing the details of the reprimand to identify any points of agreement or disagreement.

According to Camilla Nervik, head of the public services section at the Data Protection Authority, the reprimand addresses two main issues: failure to provide necessary information to registered parents and questionable legal grounds for sending the emails.

The party’s leadership has not yet fully examined the reprimand, but leader Sissel Beate Fuglestad indicated that they will take it seriously and amend their procedures if warranted. She expressed her initial impression that there was no basis for disagreement with the authority’s assessment.

The emails had sparked significant criticism upon their release, particularly from parents and opposition parties, leading to eight formal complaints and numerous inquiries to the Data Protection Authority. Experts have raised concerns regarding the legality of the party’s actions, further complicating the situation as the party prepares to address the reprimand.