Netherlands Considers Banning Facebook for Gov’t Workers

By Staff, Agencies

De Telegraaf newspaper reported that the Dutch government may ban public servants from using Facebook due to concerns over data security on the platform.

Digitalization Minister Alexandra van Huffelen told the outlet that a formal report on the issue was pending.

She said the government had long-standing reservations about how Meta, the social network’s US parent company, handles sensitive user information. Last November, the Dutch Data Protection Authority was asked to advise whether government officials should be using Facebook.

“It is expected to issue a response soon,” added van Huffelen. 

Sources told De Telegraaf that a memo imposing a ban was already being prepared after Dutch officials considered Meta’s reaction to their concerns to be inadequate. Preparations are being made at government level to disengage the platform, the report claimed.

Last year, the government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte banned government officials from installing the video-sharing app TikTok on their work phones, citing concerns about possible espionage.

The move heralded the introduction of a list of apps pre-approved for government devices. Officials indicated at the time that Facebook and Instagram – another Meta platform – could be removed from the list in the future.

Last week, van Huffelen posted what she called her last-ever update on X [formerly Twitter], a platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk. She told national media that the decision was personal and motivated by X’s refusal to comply with EU data laws.

“That is also the line we have always chosen with Facebook,” she told NU.nl. “We speak to them if they do not comply with the rules. We then have a conversation to see whether they are working on it. But with Musk, that conversation never happened. He is not open to it.”