Security.nl, 21 Sept 2012: 'Head of AIVD not a supporter of Big Brother'

"The head of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) is not in favour of Big Brother, he revealed during a lecture at Privacy First Foundation To know. Rob Bertholee had been invited by the privacy advocate to come and speak about the AIVD and the right to privacy. Thus, he discussed various tasks the service is engaged in, the powers it has and how this may affect society or privacy of citizens.

For instance, Bertholee argues that the interconnection and international exchange of data can be perceived by citizens as 'Big Brother' and that people are concerned about this. Something Bertholee says as a citizen he also worries about.

Big Brother
Confronted with a question from the audience about new, predictive techniques and the effect this could have on societal behaviour, Bertholee stated "not to be a supporter of Big Brother. There are limits to what you can and cannot do. That also has to do with the risks you are willing to run as a society."

Bertholee ends his lecture by emphasising once again that the AIVD does not keep files on everyone, does not keep everyone under the tap, does not shoot anyone, does not arrest anyone, does not clamp down on anyone, does not torture anyone, does not hack every computer, does not have enforcement powers, does not put pressure on people and does not recruit journalists. Myths that the AIVD also tries to dispel on its own website."

Source: Security.co.uk, 21 September 2012.