Nederlands Dagblad, 20 March 2013: 'Opstelten talks to privacy clubs'

"Minister of Security and Justice Ivo Opstelten (VVD) is willing to talk to privacy organisations about the retention of license plate data. He made that commitment on Wednesday in the debate on his plan to store all number plates captured by cameras for four weeks. Parliamentary parties are concerned about the privacy aspect of the measure.

Opstelten will sit down with Bits of Freedom and Privacy First in the coming weeks. In particular, D66 MP Gerard Schouw and SP MP Sharon Gesthuizen expressed their concerns about the violation of citizens' privacy on Wednesday. "We should not start considering all motorists as suspects 24 hours a day," Schouw said. "You are being watched," Gesthuizen warned.

Coalition parties VVD and PvdA and also the CDA support the plan, although they also understand the reservations of D66 and the SP. Opstelten wants number plate photos to be stored even if no traffic offence has been committed. This way, the data can be used in the detection of other crimes.

Optelten assured the chamber that not every citizen would be considered a suspect. Above all, he pointed to the benefits it offers for the detection of criminals."

Source: Dutch newspaper 20 March 2013.