The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) may request vaccination data from the RIVM and make them available for scientific research into excess mortality during the corona pandemic. That is the conclusion of the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP) in response to a request for advice from the House of Representatives. The AP does have critical comments on the "CBS route.
'The AP's conclusion to the Lower House shows that excess mortality research is simply allowed within the privacy law General Data Protection Regulation (AVG). Even if some claim otherwise here and there,' said AP vice president Monique Verdier.
In order for the study on excess mortality to continue, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport is appealing to the CBS Act. That Act provides that CBS may request data from, for example, RIVM. The data must then be intended for the performance of statistical research, by CBS.
Once CBS has done statistical research, it may make the data available to outside scientific researchers for reuse.
The AP concludes that this route is lawful in this particular case, but cautions that the "CBS route" should not become a goat's trail.
We must prevent statistical research by CBS from serving as an opportunity to collect personal data for other research. Health data are highly privacy-sensitive and deserve extremely careful handling.
Therefore, the AP calls on the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport to work on new legislation specifically addressing the use of health data for scientific research.
Such additional, clarifying legislation is certainly possible on the basis of the AVG. In fact, the AP has already brought this to the attention of VWS.
'The AP warmly welcomes an investigation into excess mortality,' Verdier said. 'What surprises the AP is that the legislature did not simply provide clarity at an earlier stage. Because the AVG explicitly offers the possibility of regulating the use of health data for scientific research through additional legislation. That possibility is even explicitly mentioned in the AVG.'
'Of course, the AP does not know why the legislature failed to clarify,' Verdier continued. 'Meanwhile, the legislature does say it intends to come up with additional legislation. The AP certainly supports this intention. So that the scientific community and the healthcare sector can finally get clarity.'
