Privacy? It's now or never!

Since its establishment in 2008, the Privacy First Foundation has been concerned daily about the increasing lack of privacy in Dutch society, both online and offline. Gradually, everyone's privacy is being increasingly compromised and privacy as it used to exist seems to be increasingly becoming an illusion. At the same time, the introduction of the AVG has ensured that privacy awareness is getting higher and higher. Examples of poor or careless handling of personal data in the news and its impact have contributed to the need and stronger need for the protection of our privacy law. Moreover, the Netherlands has the knowledge and technology to design our society in a privacy-friendly way. At the same time, plans for a comprehensive eID upon us that could make everyone's remaining anonymity a thing of the past forever. Nor are the prospects from The Hague rosy; for instance, the Home Office has shelved the previously disliked plan for a central biometric database after 11 years removed from the fridge and wants to make this a reality. To complete the surveillance society, the extra-legal practices of the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) also threaten to be legally enshrined and the NCTV becomes a new secret service. Nor have they learned anything from the debacle surrounding the System Risk Indication (SyRI) and the Supplements affair in The Hague: "Super SyRI" (the Data Processing by Collaborative Groups Act, WGS) is now in the pipeline. Meanwhile, citizens, businesses and other organisations are becoming increasingly encapsulated by Big Tech, witness, for example, the iron-clad Google's grip on education. And there are countless more examples, too many to mention here.

Privacy First cannot let these developments continue any longer. We are now at a historical crossroads: what kind of society do we want? What kind of society do we want our children and grandchildren to grow up in? It is NOW time for action. Action to turn the tide and enforce a privacy-friendly future. We have the knowledge. We have the technology. The alternatives exist or are in development. "Be the change you want to see in this world." Anything is possible, but it requires communication, solidarity and cooperation. Privacy First makes the case for this every day. Who joins this effort?