Green Party posted sensitive information about voters and members online
CBC
The Green Party posted sensitive and personal information belonging to its members and supporters online, violating the party's own internal rules.
Tens of thousands of names, phone numbers, addresses and other sensitive items of information were left available online, accessible through the party's website.
It's not clear how long the information was available online. CBC was made aware of potential concerns about Green Party data on Tuesday. Access to the Google Drive document that contains the information closed down on Thursday after CBC contacted the party.
One privacy expert said posting the personal information online qualifies as a breach of trust.
"Appalling," said Ann Cavoukian, the head of Toronto Metropolitan University's Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence and a former Ontario information and privacy commissioner.
"I'm sorry, I just find that so appalling that the Green Party would post this information, make it publicly available."
Posting unsecured personal information online violates the Green Party's privacy policy. On its website, the party promises voters that it uses "safeguards" against the unauthorized use, sharing, loss or theft of its information.
CBC did not find any credit card or financial information in the files — but names, addresses, postal codes, phone numbers, birthdates, internal party documents and training videos were all available for viewing and downloading. The information was stored in the cloud in a Google Drive.
It's not clear how long the data was available online. The folders and files were date-stamped July 2022.
CBC viewed spreadsheets marked "voters list" that belonged to former 2020 Green leadership candidates Dylan Perceval-Maxwell, Andrew West, Amita Kuttner, David Merner, Glen Murray, Judy Green, Courtney Howard and Annamie Paul.
Paul won that leadership race; she resigned a year later following an internal political struggle over her leadership. Her voter list had 26,000 rows of voter information exposed when it was posted online.
Some information from the campaign of Dimitri Lascaris, who placed second in the 2020 leadership race, was also shared online.
The party immediately restricted access to its Google Drive after CBC contacted the Greens.
The party ended 2022 with the return of former leader Elizabeth May to the top job and a new executive director, Kevin Dunbar. In a statement, Dunbar said the party has "been tirelessly reviewing" its internal systems and website.
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