EIJC18 & Dataharvest

In SyRI, the System Risk Indication of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, personal data of Dutch citizens is collected and analyzed on a large scale. Using secret algorithms, citizens are then subjected to a risk analysis. When there is an increased risk of violating one of the many laws that SyRI covers, individuals are included in the Risk Reports Register, which is accessible to many government agencies. Every citizen can be secretly subjected to profiling in SyRI. He or she does not know what data or process of analysis was used to determined that he or she is a 'risk'. However, SyRI can have drastic consequences. Public authorities can take serious measures as a result of a risk statement, for instance by imposing fines, withdrawing benefits or even starting criminal proceedings. It is impossible for the citizen to find out how a risk report came about or to refute an incorrect report. In practice, this amounts to a reversal of the burden of proof. Tijmen Wisman and Ronald Huissen will present how an investigation into the system lead to a high-profile court challenge in the Netherlands.