Dutch Minister of Finance fined 2.75 million Euro for discriminatory and unlawful data processing
On December 8th, 2021, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA)) announced that it had fined the Belastingdienst (the Dutch Tax Administration) €2.75 million. The fine was imposed because, as part of the so-called Toeslagenaaffaire (Childcare Benefit Affair), the Belastingdienst processed data on the (dual) nationality of childcare benefit claimants in an unlawful, discriminatory and therefore unlawful manner over many years, in serious breach of the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In the 2010s, the Belastingdienst wrongly reclaimed child benefits from tens of thousands of parents. Even minor formal errors in filling out the forms led to enormous claims, and a supposedly false citizenship could lead to years of stigmatizing fraud investigations. As a result, many families who relied on government assistance were driven into bankruptcy. The Belastingdienst should have deleted the data on dual nationality of Dutch nationals in January 2014, as from that date the dual nationality of Dutch nationals no longer played a legal role in the assessment of applications for childcare benefits. Nevertheless, the Belastingdienst retained and used these data. In May 2018, there were still about 1.4 million people with dual nationality registered in the Belastingdienst’s systems. What initially appeared to be a simple administrative failure has evolved over the years into a major scandal. The final report of the investigative commission, presented in December, concludes that the tax offices systematically preyed on innocent citizens. The Belastingdienst also used the nationality of applicants as an indicator in a system that automatically classified certain applications as risky. Again, the data were not necessary for this purpose. Under the General Data Protection Regulation, it is unlawful to process data on nationality in a discriminatory manner, as the data processing must not violate fundamental rights. These include the right to equality and non-discrimination. Under the GDPR, it is unlawful to process personal data on nationality in a discriminatory manner, as the data processing must not violate fundamental rights. These include the right to equality and non-discrimination. In addition, personal data may only be processed and stored for a specific, predetermined purpose. Processing without a purpose is inadmissible, and here there was no purpose, as nationality is legally irrelevant for the assessment of applications for childcare benefits.
In the statement DPA chair Aleid Wolfsen is quoted:
The government has exclusive responsibility for lots of things. Members of the public don’t have a choice; they are forced to allow the government to process their personal data.
That’s why it’s crucial that everyone can have absolute confidence that this processing is done properly. That the government doesn’t keep and process unnecessary data about individuals. And that there is never any element of discrimination involved in an individual’s contact with the government.
That went horribly wrong at the Benefits Office, with all the associated consequences. Obviously this fine cannot undo any of the harm done. But it is an important step within a broader recovery process.
In the wake of the DPA investigation, the Belastingdienst began to clean up its internal systems. In the summer of 2020, the dual nationalities of Dutch nationals were completely deleted from the systems. According to the DPA, since October 2018, the Belastingdienst no longer uses the nationality of applicants to assess risk. And since February 2019, it no longer uses the data to fight organized fraud. The fine was imposed on the Minister of Finance because he is responsible for the processing of personal data within the Belastingdienst.