Municipalities continue to leak personal data via public documents
Research by NOS and Nieuwsuur shows that municipalities are still publishing residents’ personal data in documents made public under the Open Government Act (Woo). This includes email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, citizen service numbers (BSNs), and ID numbers that have been insufficiently anonymized.
Several municipalities have since removed the documents and reported a data breach to the Dutch Data Protection Authority. According to the municipalities, the incidents are primarily the result of human error and inadequately followed work processes.
The case underscores that careful anonymization, quality controls, and privacy-by-design remain essential for proactive disclosure.
Read the NOS.nl article for more information.