Dutch government will stop using Facebook if it doesn’t improve private data handling

The government will stop using Facebook if the social media platform does not improve how it handles sensitive personal data, said State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen, who handles digitization issues for the Cabinet. The company contracted to vet Facebook's privacy policy said it is unlikely the company will meet all requirements. It is therefore likely that the government will eventually withdraw from the social media platform.

The state secretary said she thinks that Facebook users’ data is not sufficiently protected. It is unclear how their data is processed and with whom it ends up. There is a risk that sensitive personal data will end up with security services in the United States, where the platform’s parent company, Meta, is located.

The Cabinet does not want to be responsible for the risks that residents of the Netherlands are faced with when they visit the Dutch government’s many Facebook pages. That is why Van Huffelen has asked the social media company to implement a long list of measures. One is to stop the practice of storing data in the U.S. from users in the Netherlands when they view government Facebook pages. This data must also be deleted no more than a week after it has been collected.

The state secretary said she is discussing this with Meta. According to the authors of the report, it is "unlikely" that all of these measures will actually be implemented. "If the risks are not sufficiently removed, there is no other option than to stop using government Facebook pages," Van Huffelen said.

Meta said in response that the report the state secretary referenced does not properly reflect "how Meta, our policies and tools work." In addition, important aspects of the law are misinterpreted, according to the social media company. Facebook's parent company also said it adheres to the law and is transparent about how data is processed.

Quitting Facebook also has major drawbacks, she acknowledged. The widely used social media platform is an important channel for the government to communicate with citizens. The state secretary said will also investigate the extent of the consequences should the government no longer make use of Facebook, and she will investigate alternatives.

The Netherlands would not be the first country whose government stops using Facebook. The data protection authority in Germany made a similar decision at the beginning of this year. This prompted Van Huffelen to conduct an investigation as part of the Cabinet’s new strategy to be stricter towards social media.