The Dutch government is secretly collecting messages and reactions from Dutch Twitter users. They do this to gauge the sentiments of government policy in society. Among others, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the Tax Authority and the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) do this. Experts point out that the government is breaking the law in doing so.
This is according to a roundup of Trouw (1), iBestuur & Binnenlands Bestuur (2) and AG Connect (3).
To collect and analyze tweets, government agencies use tools such as Coosto, OBI4WAN and Twittertap. These digital tools are also used to answer critical questions and monitor media coverage. Government agencies say they use them to improve "services, policies and regulations."
One of the agencies that has analyzed thousands of tweets in recent years is the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP). These dealt with issues such as climate change and national identity, two topics that SCP employees research. In addition to opinions, the research agency also collected particular personal data such as religious beliefs, ethnicity, sexual orientation and political views.
A spokesman for the SCP said collecting this personal information was not the purpose of the research. "But it could not be ruled out beforehand that the tweets would contain special personal data," he told daily newspaper Trouw and the other media that conducted the research.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) and the Ministry of Agriculture also collect and study tweets from Dutch Twitter users. The ministries indicate that in this way they want to gauge what is going on in society and how citizens think about government policy. Information about political views and professions of those involved is also gathered in this process. In addition to the content of tweets, the NVWA also collected IP addresses (4) and biographical data of twitterers.
Anyone with a public profile on Twitter knows that his or her tweets can be read by the entire world. However, that does not mean that government agencies are allowed to collect and analyze them, according to Floor Terra, a consultant at Privacy Company. She argues that users have given Twitter permission to publish their tweets. The government does not have permission to study the tweets on a large scale. "There is then a new purpose, so you have to ask permission from users again," she says.
Terra emphasizes that under the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG), government bodies are not allowed to process data without informing those affected. Collecting special personal data such as religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation is completely out of the question.
"It is a widespread misunderstanding that the AVG would not apply to public information, such as tweets," explained Professor of ICT and Private Law at Radboud University Nijmegen Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius. According to Internet lawyer and law professor Mathieu Paapst, government agencies should notify users when they store tweets and account information. Other experts also question government agencies' practices.
This is not the first time the government has been embarrassed by collecting information from Dutch citizens on a large scale. In November, it emerged that the Land Information Maneuver Centre (LIMC) was collecting opinions on a variety of social issues (5). The research center wanted to know what citizens thought about the coronavirus, 5G transmission towers and the economy. Social groups such as Virus Madness (now Virus Truth), Black Lives Matter, Yellow Shirts and Farmers Defense Force (FDF) were closely monitored.
In addition to public sources, the LIMC also collected information from "semi-closed sources" and confidential sources. These include the police's internal registration system and technical briefings from the Ministry of Defense. LIMC shared the conclusions with the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV).
Because of the controversy, then-Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten decided to stop the work of the LIMC (6). Her successor, Kajsa Ollongren, commissioned an independent investigation (7) into the LIIMC's data collection practices.
https://www.trouw.nl/economie/overheid-verzamelt-tweets-zonder-dat-je-het-weet-problematisch-stellen-experts~b0263e44/
https://www.binnenlandsbestuur.nl/digitaal/hoe-de-overheid-duizenden-tweets-verzamelt-en-daarbij-de-wet-overtreedt
https://www.agconnect.nl/artikel/hoe-de-overheid-duizenden-tweets-verzamelt-en-daarbij-de-wet-overtreedt
https://www.vpngids.nl/privacy/anoniem-browsen/wat-is-mijn-ip/
https://www.vpngids.nl/nieuws/nederlandse-leger-verzamelt-data-over-burgers/
https://www.vpngids.nl/nieuws/limc-stopt-met-verzamelen-van-data-over-burgers/
https://www.vpngids.nl/nieuws/toch-onderzoek-naar-dataverzameling-door-limc/
