In posts on various local Facebook pages, the police called on Dutch consumers to delete the age-filter app FaceApp from their smartphones and other devices. According to the police, the app is not safe because it does not have to comply with European privacy legislation.
FaceApp allows users to upload a photo and a filter on it to show what they would look like if they were older or younger. The app has been around for some time, but has become extremely popular over the past weeks.
According to CTIVD, the regulator for the Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD, there are major risks that the two services will act in violation of the new Intelligence and Security Law because guarantees that they will do so are lacking or not properly regulated. As a result the AIVD and MIVD themselves don't know themselves whether they're acting in line with the law, NOS reports.
The government does not have to withdraw its new law on the Dutch intelligence and security services in its current form, the court ruled on Tuesday in summary proceedings filed by a group of privacy organizations and companies, NU.nl reports.
A majority in the Tweede Kamer is satisfied with the changes the government wants to make to the new law for the intelligence and security services. In addition to coalition parties VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie, opposition parties GroenLinks, PvdA and SGP also agree with the changes, was revealed in a parliamentary debate on the law on Tuesday, NOS reports.
The government's plans on how to change the new law for the Dutch intelligence services after a majority voted against it in a referendum, leaked on Thursday night. The changes are "mostly cosmetic" and don't do justice the results of the advisory referendum, according to privacy organization Bits of Freedom, NOS reports.
The four parties in the Dutch government are willing to consider adapting the new law for the intelligence and security services. Responsible Minister Kasja Ollongren of Home Affairs will soon present a number of proposals for amendments, sources told BNR.
A majority of Dutch voted against the new law for the Dutch intelligence and security services, the Electoral Council officially announced on Thursday. In total 49.4 percent voted against the law, 46.5 percent voted for it, and 4 percent cast a blank vote, NU.nl reports.
52 percent of Dutch voters voted in the referendum, far above the 30 percent minimum turnout required for the referendum to be valid.
Human rights organization Amnesty International calls on the Dutch government to do justice to the millions of people who voted against a new law for the Dutch intelligence services in a referendum on Wednesday. The law should be changed on certain points to make certain it protects human rights, the Dutch branch of the organization said in a statement on Thursday.
With 80 percent of the votes in the referendum on whether or not to implement a new law for the Dutch intelligence and security services counted, opponents to the law are taking the lead. Of the counted votes, 49 percent were against the law, and 47 percent for. Around 4 percent of the votes were blank, the Volkskrant reports.
Around 53 percent of voters voted in the referendum, far above the 30 percent required for the referendum to be valid.
An exit poll published on Wednesday night showed that roughly 48 percent of the Netherlands population turned out to vote in a referendum on a law that would give intelligence services authority to collect and access a massive amount of data. With a five percent margin of error, the Ipsos/NOS poll said that 49 percent voted in favor of the law, and 48 percent against, with three percent registering no-votes.
Today around 13 million Dutch can vote in a referendum on whether or not to implement a new law for intelligence services AIVD and MIVD. Polling stations opened at 7:30 a.m. and most will remain open until 9:00 p.m.
More Dutch plan to vote for a law that will give the Dutch intelligence services more capabilities to eavesdrop on people than plan to vote against. In every one of four recent polls, there are more "for" voters than "against" voters, NOS reports.
Amnesty International strongly criticized several European Union member states, including the Netherlands, in its annual yearbook that was presented on Thursday. According to the organization, human rights are under pressure in the EU, ANP reports.
"In countries like Poland and Hungary, the rule of law is being eroded even further. But also in France and in the Netherlands, human rights are no longer always a matter of course", the human rights organization said with the publication of its Yearbook 2017-2018.
The Dutch government is postponing the implementation of the new data mining law for the intelligence and security services. Minister Kasja Ollongren of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations will send a letter to the Tweede Kamer on Wednesday to inform them that it will not be possible to appoint a supervisory committee before the law was set to take effect on January 1st, NOS reports.
Half of Dutch support the new data mining law for the Dutch intelligence agencies, according to a study by I&O Research, NU.nl reports. The new law gives intelligence agencies AIVD and MIVD more power to collect, store and analyze large amounts of internet traffic.
A petition for a referendum on a new law that gives the Dutch intelligence services massive data mining capabilities, collected over 300 thousand signatures - the number necessary for an advisory referendum to be arranged. The Electoral Council must still check the validity of the signatures. Should they all prove valid, the referendum will be arranged during the municipal elections in March next year, NU.nl reports.
A group of Amsterdam students collected 10 thousand signatures for a referendum on a new data mining law, which the Dutch Senate adopted in July. That is the first milestone on organizing an advisory referendum on the new Intelligence and Security Services Act, RTL Z reports.
Twelve organizations teamed up to file a lawsuit to stop the implementation of a new data mining law in the Netherlands. The new law was adopted by the Dutch Senate on Tuesday and gives the intelligence services more capabilities to spy on internet traffic on a large scale.
A majority in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, voted for implementing a new data mining law that will give the Dutch intelligence services the authority to intercept data on a large scale. The new law was drawn up by Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk and will take effect on January 1st, NOS reports.
Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD violated multiple rules in the period between October 2015 and March 2016 when eavesdropping on conversations with lawyers and journalists, according to the body that oversees the services CTIVD, the Volkskrant reports.
The AIVD illegally eavesdropped on three conversations between a target and his or her lawyer, according to the CTIVD. This involved "indirect tapping" - the AIVD was listening in on conversations of a suspected terrorist and in doing so als listened to conversations the suspect had with a lawyer.
The lower house of Dutch parliament is debating a new data mining law that will give the Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD the power to intercept data streams on large scales. The expectation is that the law will be voted in, as a majority in parliament already revealed support for the law, AD reports.
The Council of the Judiciary wrote a very critical letter to Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs over the new datamining law that allows intelligence service AIVD to strategically intercept large amounts of data from the internet.
The government plans to push through with its data mining plans that will give the intelligence services the capability to continuously spy on large amounts of internet traffic, the Volkskrant reports based on a still secret bill the paper has in its possession.
Analyzing data gained from data mining can help spot fraud and solve crimes, but comes at the risk of profiling citizens like criminals, according to the Dutch scientific council for government policy WRR in its latest advice to the government
