The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP) has ordered the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) to destroy unlawfully collected personal data of members of Muslim communities in two months. The ministry collected that personal data between 2016 and 2019 through covert investigations into individuals, organizations and networks within Muslim communities in the Netherlands. This gives people two more months to see exactly what has been recorded about them.
The Ministry of SZW conducted these investigations without the knowledge of the mosques and people investigated. AP chairman Aleid Wolfsen: 'The collection of personal data in these surveys was illegal, because it happened without a legal basis and the ministry was not open about it. Moreover, it was discriminatory because it mainly involved people with an Islamic background. This damages people's trust in the government.
After this became known, the AP launched an investigation on Sept. 26, 2023. This turned out to be 12 investigations commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment from 2016-2019. The AP consulted a total of 3,000 documents such as reports, interview reports, emails and notes. It also looked into the exchange of personal data between ministries and other government agencies.
The ministry used open sources (Internet, social media), interviews with other individuals and on-site "field research. In the process, the research firm hired by SZW visited certain mosques to "gain insight into the informal infrastructure and collect in-depth data.
The documents consulted by the AP show that at least 31 people were specifically investigated. The reports on the investigations of these people included personal information such as name, education pursued, employer, position, behaviors, religious beliefs and views. In addition, hundreds more people have been named in reports and other documents. Of them, their names have been given and their relationship to the person under investigation.
On Sept. 20, 2023, the AP reminded the Ministry of SSW of its obligation to personally and actively inform all citizens about whom it had illegally collected information. The ministry sent a letter alerting people to the possibility of making a request for inspection. The people whose data the SZW ministry determined had been unlawfully processed received a letter of apology from the minister. On September 27, 2023, the Minister of SZW also acknowledged the unlawful actions and apologized for this in the Inburgering en Integratie committee meeting in the Lower House.
According to the ministry, to the extent possible, the people concerned have been contacted with information about the processing of their personal data. They have also been given access to the personal data collected if requested, the ministry states. As a result, there is no reason for the AP to take further action at this time based on the investigation.
Wolfsen: "The lives of innocent people have been mapped, without their knowledge. Not by an intelligence service or the police, but by a ministry. This was wrong and discriminatory. The ministry has acknowledged that and that is a nice first step. But that is not the end of the matter. The ministry must destroy that illegally collected data in two months, so that people still have the opportunity now to see exactly what has been recorded about them.
