Dutch spy agencies are training AI with citizens’ data, watchdog warns
This isn’t the first time Dutch authorities have been accused of mishandling citizens’ personal data.
More than 10,000 vessels sail from IJmuide. Mouneb Taim/Anadolu via Getty Images.
- Dutch intelligence agencies may be using citizens’ data to train AI models, according to civil rights group Bits of Freedom.
- A government watchdog found the AIVD and MIVD failed to properly protect large collections of personal data.
- The datasets include names, contact details, location data, social media activity, and private communications from many citizens.
- Privacy advocates are calling for stronger oversight, warning intelligence agencies have repeatedly mishandled sensitive data.
The General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) and the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) are likely using citizens’ data to train their own AI models. The warning comes after an official watchdog found the agencies failed to adequately protect sensitive personal information collected in bulk.
The Dutch civil rights movement Bits of Freedom (BoF) is responding to a report by the Review Committee on the Intelligence and Security Service (CTIVD) that was published last week.
The Review Committee found that Dutch intelligence agencies are failing to properly safeguard vast collections of citizens’ personal data. These bulk datasets contain sensitive information, such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, location data, social media, and content-related communication data.
Too many staff members of the AIVD and MIVD have access to too much data for too long, and that data is used for purposes for which it shouldn’t be used.
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“The processing of data from bulk datasets constitutes a privacy violation for the individuals included in them. Furthermore, the vast majority of people included in these datasets have nothing to do with espionage or terrorism. The safeguards regarding data processing must simply be in place,” Hugo Hillenaar, Chairman of the CTIVD, said in a statement.
According to BoF, three things stand out in the Review Committee’s report. First, this isn’t the first time that the intelligence agencies have failed to comply with Dutch rules and regulations. Back in 2020, the committee found that the AIVD and MIVD retained data on millions of citizens for far too long. The recent report proves they haven’t learned from their past mistakes.
Secondly, the civil rights movement feels that the intelligence agencies are training their own AI with citizens’ data. “In doing so, they even seem to be purchasing data originating from data breaches. Shouldn’t they be protecting us against precisely that?”
Unlike commercial entities, BoF argues, citizens can’t opt out when the AIVD and MIVD collect information. On top of that, the spy agencies aren’t allowed to train AI with citizens’ data.
Lastly, the report shows why proper, binding oversight is necessary.
“Only then can citizens and politicians gain insight into what the secret services are doing in practice, form an opinion about it, and political accountability be taken,” BoF explains.
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Executive Director Evelyn Austin claims that the intelligence agencies want more power, but the Review Committee's report shows they can’t even handle the power they already have.
“They fail to get their data management in order and refuse to be held in check by the law. This is particularly concerning for a government agency that operates in secret by design. Oversight of these services must under no circumstances be weakened,” Austin states.