Government of Netherlands considers banning use of Facebook: Reason revealed
Photo: The Netherlands wants to ban the use of Facebook for officials (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The government of the Netherlands may consider completely discontinuing the use of Facebook due to security issues related to confidential data, reports De Telegraaf.
The Dutch government attempted to negotiate with Meta, the parent company of Facebook, regarding data security issues, but the talks did not yield any results. Therefore, the government has initiated preparations for a ban on Facebook.
Dutch Minister for Digitalisation, Alexandra van Huffelen, confirmed that the government has been concerned for several years about how Facebook processes confidential data.
In 2017, at the request of the Dutch government, Meta made adjustments to the operation of the social network, but this did not resolve the issues. Additionally, new concerns about the security of Facebook's operations arose within the government.
As a result, in January 2024, the government approached the Data Protection Authority to provide recommendations on whether the use of Facebook is safe. According to De Telegraaf, the regulatory authority will provide these recommendations in the near future. However, the government reportedly aims for a complete ban on Facebook.
What preceded
In the spring of 2023, the Dutch government prohibited officials and government employees from using TikTok due to concerns about espionage from the platform created by Chinese developers. In total, there are 140,000 civil servants in the Netherlands.
It was also previously reported that the European Consumer Protection Organization filed a complaint against the social networks Facebook and Instagram. The organization claims that Meta violates the fundamental right of Europeans to data protection by forcing them to choose between tracking for personalized advertising and paying up to 251.88 euros per year.
