The government will start removing personal data of Muslims that was unlawfully collected on January 1, 2026. This is later than requested by supervisor AP.
Between 2016 and 2019, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment unlawfully collected personal data of Muslims. This happened during an investigation into individuals, organizations, and networks within the Dutch Muslim communities. The mosques and members were not aware of the investigation.
The collection of this personal data was illegal and discriminatory, according to the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP). On April 11, the privacy supervisor ordered the government to destroy the unlawfully collected data “within two months”.
However, the ministry is still processing requests from people who want to know if their data has been processed. This is what outgoing State Secretary Jurgen Nobel (Participation and Integration) writes in a letter to the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
At the moment, it is clear that the government has unlawfully processed the personal data of at least 206 Muslims. Thirty of them had submitted such an inspection request themselves. In the other 176 cases, the government itself discovered the irregularities.
Nobel calls it “painful and reprehensible when the government lets you know that it has unlawfully processed data about you”. “I hope those involved have gained clarity and can now close this chapter,” writes the State Secretary.