The Dutch government may completely abandon Facebook – Kommersant

The Dutch government may completely abandon Facebook (owned by Meta, which is considered extremist and banned). The reason is problems with ensuring the security of confidential data. This was reported by a Dutch publication De Telegraaf with reference to sources.

According to the newspaper, the Dutch authorities tried to reach an agreement with the parent company Meta on the issue of data security, but the negotiations did not end in anything. Therefore, the authorities began preparations for a government ban on Facebook. State Secretary of the Dutch Ministry of Internal Affairs Alexandra van Hoeffelen confirmed that the government has been concerned about how Facebook handles sensitive data for several years.

In 2017, at the request of the Dutch authorities, Meta made adjustments to the work of the social network, but this did not solve the problem. In addition, the government has new concerns about the security of the social network.

As a result, in January 2024 the government asked the Data Protection Authority to provide advice on whether Facebook was safe to use. According to De Telegraaf, the relevant department will provide these recommendations in the near future. However, as the publication notes, the government aims to completely ban Facebook.

In the spring of 2023, Dutch authorities banned officials and members of the government from using TikTok due to fears of espionage from the platform created by Chinese developers. In total, there are 140 thousand civil servants in the Netherlands.

Anastasia Larina