As of this week, airlines are obliged to share passenger data of all flights arriving or departing in the Netherlands with a newly established passenger information unit (Pi-NL).
The Dutch government wants insight into travel movements because it would contribute to the prevention, investigation and prosecution of serious crime and terrorism. The bill by Minister Grapperhaus that makes this possible was adopted by the Senate earlier this month and is in line with European agreements.
The Pi-NL will process the data and, if necessary, share it with authorized authorities, such as the investigative services. The Minister of Justice and Security is responsible for the new unit, which is part of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee.
Privacy interest
According to Minister Grapperhaus, when the law was drafted, he carefully weighed up the interests of combating terrorism against the interests of passengers' privacy. The bill therefore contains various safeguards. For example, the retention period of the data is limited, no special personal data, such as religion and ethnic origin, may be processed and the exchange of data with other countries is subject to strict conditions. An officer specifically appointed for this purpose supervises compliance with the statutory rules. In addition, the Dutch Data Protection Authority exercises independent supervision.
Source: Central government
Fortunately, they don't store everything and very importantly not for long.
In this way we remain assured that attacks can simply be committed.
My opinion if you are going to do something do it right.
There is no point in saving everything, it produces a huge amount of useless data and noise. And keeping that data for years is also pointless. And then there is also something about privacy. There is a tipping point where the government of agencies does more harm to privacy than there is any gain (with regard to preventing or detecting crimes). My opinion is that there is already more than enough looking over my shoulder under the excuse of 'anti-terror'.
Now the SVB can easily track how many days you are outside the Netherlands per year. Just notice how many people will now lose their lasting relationship with the Netherlands, even if you travel for business, so lose their residency and with it their health insurance and travel insurance.
Big brother is watching you. Day freedom. The KGB was sacred to it and privacy? You can completely forget about that under the guise of fighting terrorism. Who is the Dutch John Bolton?
Politics has fallen asleep again.
You might be right about that. That crazy arrangement of 8 months for four months, who is responsible for this and what is the use or importance of this. We really need to get rid of this nonsense. As a Dutch citizen you should be entitled to Dutch citizenship with the associated rules. Leave it up to the individual whether you want to use this, but do not impose this explicitly. I know a woman who has Dutch and Thai nationality. She has lived in the Netherlands for more than 20 years and, due to family problems, temporarily felt partly responsible for helping family in Thailand. Initially she had thought that the 8 months would be enough, but you cannot control illness and it turned out to be more than 12 months, so she had to deregister from the Netherlands, which she did. We know the consequences. A lot of hassle and you immediately become a second-class Dutch citizen with considerably fewer rights. Hassle with authorities and adjustments. Yes, yes, that's how you are treated by, among others, the club that always wants to make things easier for people. Banks also have an obligation to provide the tax authorities with the information they have available. If you stay abroad for a longer period of time, you will immediately have to prove that you did not work there and why you stayed there for more than 8 months. Why are private reasons no longer so private? The tax authorities will think along with you here.
Another tip that opened my eyes is the book by Esther Jacobs under the title handbook for world citizens. So familiar and well written. Should be mandatory fodder for all those in the Netherlands who are busy writing laws and regulations, which only make it more unlivable and more that people are played off against each other.
Then also report what in Jacobs's book has moved you so much that you believe that legislators should acquaint themselves with its contents. What or where actually becomes unlivable and who is/are played off against each other. As far as I read on this blog, hundreds of people (maybe thousands) are happy with their AOW + supplementary pension, but certainly with their guaranteed privacy in TH. The only thing they care about is whether there are still some euros to grab from NL. Well, that may happen now that people in NL have been busy in recent months about a pension agreement and an increase in the minimum wage. All those pensioners will soon also owe their increase in income to that agreement and that increase (probably not enough to their liking, which is why they are able to live in TH at all), and thanks to their protected privacy they are not asked but show to what extent they actually spend that income. No, that kind of privacy is given to TH Immigration, the conditions of which they slavishly and obediently fulfill.
Dick, only right if the SVB intervenes, also health insurance, etc. If you follow the rules, nothing is wrong. Only the cheaters who make improper use of facilities can be dealt with. Rightly so, it is the abusers who drive up the cost of general services.
What bare nonsense, Dick41, when you say this: “…how many people are now going to lose their lasting bond with the Netherlands, even if you travel for business…”. It's about where you LIVE, so the sustainable bond with NL. That lasting bond is not broken when you travel for work. Just pick up a pilot down under…….. Then you drag the KGB in as if it were a collection of saints. Too bad you don't read up on the law.
what do I care if you have nothing to hide.
This and the threat of terrorism are, in my view, being “used” to gain total control over the European population.
While the terrorists walk into Europe from war zones.
Germany has approximately 5000 potential terrorists, of which it is not known with certainty whether these are trained or have the potential to become terrorists.
Are we going to a totalitarian European dictatorship and will we soon be left with only our thoughts and feelings in private mode?
I hope I'm completely wrong
The law of 8 months abroad dates back to 1896. Then they were afraid that you would get lost and you had to stay in your own country for 4 months. Just abolish that law from 123 years ago, now you won't get lost with these stasi practices.
Big Brother closes the net more and more. All must suffer under the almighty guise of counter-terrorism. Where is the limit of privacy?
And privacy guaranteed? Just kidding: ministries regularly in the news because they once again blundered by letting certain names come into the public eye. And despite the "short storage" via images, the government can follow entire trajectories of people, even after a long time. Just a little while and we will all have a chip under the skin.
This is already possible using your mobile phone or tablet, so no need to worry about a subcutaneous chip.
I don't think you read carefully anywhere that it is stated that this is shared with the SVB or any other body than the Marechaussee who can then intercept serious crime and terrorist persons and not SVBs who stay away too long for once.
Well read but not believed. Do you really think that it will only remain under the judiciary? Your tax details are also shared with SVB, so why not your travel history, they can even request your credit card usage to see where you have been. I had to show the stamps from my passports from the past 5 years!
Wake up!
Yet another restriction of the right to privacy, under the guise of “terrorism threat or crime”. It's strictly controlled, they say, do you really believe that? In a while, these data will also be available again.
sabine
Don't have to at all, you can also refuse, but of course you don't do that, they are not authorized to ask for or view your passport, but to view proof of identity and then an ID or driver's license will suffice.
“no special personal data, such as religion and ethnic origin, may be processed.”
The crucial thing to prevent attacks should not be mentioned. So they remain short-sighted fools here in Europe. Most attacks committed in Europe were committed by Muslims of ethnic origin.
Someone who is afraid of the SVB can choose to travel to Thailand from a country other than the Netherlands, for example from Brussels or Düsseldorf.
@Dick41,
What's wrong with that that the SVB can watch, then those people who are now screwing things up are next, if you have nothing on your conscience, it doesn't matter what they do or how they do it.
This way the insurance companies can also see how long you are gone!!!
Moderator: Off topic. Please limit discussion to the topic of the article.
What an easy response. Apparently people are not interested in content, but it's just beating. How about how much data companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, etc. have not collected. Who or what are you following? Take Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia: as if they don't know where you are. Get out anyway. Hang out in TH and drop off at NL. Just keep up with the news and see what's going on in BE or FR. Or read the latest developments in DE. In that respect: there is no other safe country to think of than NL. Was there ever an attack here? With the departure from NL, many people have hung their minds and judgment on the willows.
They really can't control enough.
Many stay abroad for too long and therefore illegally in their own country in order to still enjoy all kinds of social benefits unjustly.
Hopefully this will finally put a limit on it.
Be in order with everything and you have nothing to fear.
Ruudb,
As far as I know, Google and associates cannot access the specific information such as an SVB. Within the NL government our privacy is hard to find and that is just an observation and no nagging and there is also something wrong with that safety in NL, there is some massacre in the cities.
I feel safer in ASEAN than in NL except for the traffic and at least I can do something there myself by being alert.
Politicians talk about privacy, but only when it suits them.
Google knows everything about you: how much you earn, whether you are on benefits, which bank you handle your affairs with, what groceries and orders you do, how often you travel to TH, what you think or don't think of TH, your voting behavior, how often you consult stemwijzer.nl, how you interact with neighbors and family and how naive you are, in particular. Google also knows how many murders are committed in the Netherlands, which is significantly less compared to Asean. The number of liquidations in NL per year is even less than the family-related shootings in TH. Indeed, Dutch politicians talk a lot about privacy, but they also record this in verifiable legislation. The observation that privacy is hard to find within the Dutch government has to do with perception, with how you think you should view everyday Dutch reality. I think I know (and so does Google) where that reality is fed.
What a mess, mostly, unimaginable negatives when it comes to government decisions that concern a limited group of Dutch people who travel. Stick to laws and regulations and you don't have to be afraid of anything.
“Politicians have a mouthful about privacy, but only when it suits them.”
People are also talking about that, especially when it suits them and to be able to enjoy all kinds of benefits to which they are normally not entitled.
Meanwhile, three quarters of their doings are on Facebook ha ha ha ha……..
For my part, they MUST control who enters the country and use all possible means within the legal rules. After all, if you have nothing to hide, it won't bother you at all.
The eternal clincher, which one always hears: “I have nothing to hide anyway”. Would you also feel at home in China? If you follow the news, you know what's going on there. Our foreland, we are in a sliding scale. Privacy is like a salami: slice by slice and finally no privacy anymore.
Social media already knows a lot, but at least you still have a choice whether you want to be on Facebook, for example.