Dutch intelligence services mining more and more data in secret

The Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD made more use of their special powers to secretly gather information last year, NOS reports from the Review Committee for the Use of Powers’ (TIB) annual report. According to the TIB, the increase in secret data mining was due to international tensions, like the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.

The secret information gathering included tapping phones, installing cameras, or tapping internet traffic. Last year, the TIB received 4,445 requests from the two services, an increase of 30 percent compared to a year earlier. In 2023, the number of requests increased by almost 17 percent. The TIB granted almost all requests, only rejecting 4 percent last year. This is comparable to 2023.

“Geopolitically, a lot happened in 2024,” the TIB said in its report, referring to the war in Ukraine and Gaza and the “increasing threat” from China and Russia.

The general intelligence service AIVD and its military counterpart MIVD have to request permission from the TIB every time they want to use their special powers. The TIB then assesses whether the request is lawful and justified because the special powers are a violation of fundamental rights.

According to the TIB, this violation is sometimes necessary “to protect national security against terrorism, cyber threats, espionage, criminal undermining, or threats to our economic security.”

Last week, the TIB and the other supervisor on the intelligence services, CTIVD, reprimanded the AIVD for going beyond its scope. The AIVD is responsible for intelligence relating to national security. However, according to the supervisory bodies, it is increasingly common for the AIVD to want to investigate someone for criminal activities that do not pose a threat to national security. That is the purview of the police, FIOD, and Koninklijke Marechaussee.