Dutch Data Protection Authority investigating student finance center DUO

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) is investigating DUO, the government agency that implements education regulations and handles student financing requests. The reason for this is reports in the media about abuses in the fraud control about students living away from home, which is said to be discriminatory.

It is the first time in the history of the AP that it has launched an investigation into DUO. The agency is under the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The investigation started this week. The data protection authority has already physically visited DUO's offices.

Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf reported last month that he wanted to thoroughly examine DUO's fraud control process. He said this following publication of an investigation by Investico and NOS op 3. The news organizations wrote that students with an immigration background were more often accused of cheating the agency.

A system that inspectors used to determine who to examine disproportionately pointed to students with an immigrant or ethnically diverse background. The situation was somewhat similar to the Dutch tax office's use of a system to evaluate cases of fraud regarding childcare benefits. Thousands of parents were falsely labeled as fraudsters, and were pushed into poverty by being forced to pay back the government in a lump sum, while being cut off from future benefits to which they were entitled. The scandal brought down Prime Minister Mark Rutte's third Cabinet, though the electorate voted the same coalition parties back into power for his fourth Cabinet.

Dijkgraaf paused use of the system at DUO until he had more clarity about the situation. Dijkgraaf has previously announced that he wanted to investigate DUO's fraud checks, but how and when will depend on what the AP does. In a letter to parliament on Wednesday, the minister announced more about the investigation, which must be carried out by an external agency. That organization has yet to be announced.

The minister said he wants to know how the DUO fraud check system came about. He also wants it to be clear whether this system could lead to discrimination and, if so, what damage it has caused. It must also be clarified why the abuses only came to light after media coverage.