Why does Minister Opstelten want everyone's flight details?

Despite his recent Big Brother Award, minister Opstelten continues relentlessly to build his beloved surveillance society. This time not by the Giving Dutch police the power to hack into anyone's computer, by every Dutch police officer a Taser-gun to give, through massive deployment of drones or by Store everyone's highway travel movements in a police database, but by henceforth including the keep details of all air passengers entering or leaving the Netherlands in a government database. According to Opstelten, this would allow the AIVD to better monitor a handful of Dutch jihadists. This despite the fact that this plan is already four years old and was rejected at the time. In early 2010, the Telegraph wrote the following about it: "The [intelligence] services particularly want to know who is leaving for 'jihad areas'. America has been asking for data on incoming passengers for some time, but that is not available to the services here." (Telegraph 12 February 2010, p. 8, emphasis Privacy First). Is there a hidden US hand behind Opstelten's proposal...?

Privacy First considers Opstelten's plans completely unnecessary and disproportionate. Even the head of the AIVD stressed no new powers needed last year. Moreover, everyone's privacy is at risk if foreign intelligence agencies (including the US NSA) could gain direct access to this database, for instance through a 'single entry point' (Privacy First was tipped off about this as early as May 2012). For the time being, the House of Representatives also seems highly critical.

Listen HERE Our first reaction this week on the Evening Spits programme on Radio 1. Audiolink: http://www.radio1.nl/item/166234-Reisgegevens%20opslaan%20is%20een%20%20prima%20middel%20tegen%20terreur!.html.