intelligence services

Bilingual

Preventief politie in je chat? - Bert Hubert's writings
2 months ago
- The Dutch Minister of Justice proposes granting police preventive powers to monitor private chat groups, bypassing the need for concrete suspicions of crimes.
- Historically, police investigate after crimes, while intelligence services (AIVD) act on suspicions with strict secrecy and data protection safeguards.
- Previous police attempts to operate like intelligence services (e.g., TOOI, NCTV, CTER lists, IRT affair) have led to abuses and legal violations.
- The proposal lowers the threshold for police infiltration, which normally requires approval from multiple judicial authorities.
- The author argues that the AIVD, with its proper legal framework and safeguards, should handle such preventive monitoring instead.
- The minister's rejection of using AIVD is criticized, and the proposal is seen as part of a slippery slope toward pre-crime surveillance and merging police and intelligence roles.
Recensie: Een spoor van vernieuwing, door Arthur Docters van Leeuwen en Lars Kuipers - Bert Hubert's writings
2 months ago
- The book is a memoir of Arthur Docters van Leeuwen, a prominent Dutch civil servant, covering his roles in disaster management, police reorganization, the BVD (predecessor of AIVD), and the AFM.
- It offers insights into the evolution of Dutch bureaucratic and administrative culture, with relevance to current governance and security services.
- Docters van Leeuwen's tenure at the BVD involved modernizing the service and establishing an ethics committee to improve operations.
- The memoir recounts his controversial period at the Openbaar Ministerie, including the IRT affair, and his later role as head of the AFM.
- The book provides candid reflections on personal failures and lessons, though some claims (e.g., about Khalid Masood, Van Traa's death) are contentious.
- It is recommended for those interested in government innovation, intelligence, and security services, and is well-written by co-author Lars Kuipers.
Bulkdatasets AIVD en MIVD: de schaduw geheime dienst - Bert Hubert's writings
2 months ago
- AIVD and MIVD handle bulk datasets carelessly and sometimes unlawfully, as shown in a recent report.
- Bulk datasets can contain personal data of millions of people, obtained from informants, foreign services, or commercial sources.
- Using these datasets allows intelligence services to bypass strict procedures and oversight required for targeted data collection.
- The accumulation of bulk data increases risks of errors and privacy violations, and storing data alone constitutes interference with privacy under European law.
- The services have a history of refusing to destroy datasets and failing to comply with new agreements, according to the oversight committee CTIVD.
- Some datasets are harmless (e.g., old phone books), but sensitive data like location or travel records requires strict access controls.
- The CTIVD has proposed 13 improvements, and a new Intelligence and Security Services Act (Wiv2024) is expected this summer to regulate bulk data handling.

intelligence services

Preventief politie in je chat? - Bert Hubert's writings

Recensie: Een spoor van vernieuwing, door Arthur Docters van Leeuwen en Lars Kuipers - Bert Hubert's writings

Bulkdatasets AIVD en MIVD: de schaduw geheime dienst - Bert Hubert's writings