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Abolishing civil defense sirens is a short-sighted form of frugality that puts us at unnecessary risk
While sirens are blaring every day in Ukraine and Israel, our caretaker cabinet is about to cut the Dutch civil defense sirens that were introduced shortly after World War II to warn the population during dangerous situations. This decision, presented last Friday by the cabinet as a “significant” cost saving, will save per resident €0.75…
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‘Nie wieder’ also means: never again such databases of personal data
The phrase ‘I have nothing to hide’ reflects a dangerous naivety reminiscent of a dark chapter in history, the Second World War, when it suddenly turned out that we did have something to hide. The former Artis concert hall housed Amsterdam’s population register with details of 70,000 Jews that the occupiers wanted to use. Dressed…
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Rebuilding trust? Stop spreading distrust first
Trust in Dutch society has declined in recent years, a trend also seen in other countries. Citizens trust both the government and each other less and less. That is why this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos was dedicated to ‘Rebuilding Trust’, which was also attended by Queen Máxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Why…
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Give kids more digital skills? Teach them reading, writing and maths
It is an epidemic silently raging through our classrooms. While Dutch youngsters swipe faster than their shadows and with a flair that makes their parents dizzy, they are getting worse at reading and writing every year. They have the best digital skills in Europe but are now among the worst readers and writers in developed…
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To boost profits even further, supermarkets now want to ‘steal’ our privacy with AI surveillance
The rise of self-scanning checkouts in supermarkets has a side effect: one in three loyal customers turns into petty thieves. According to scientists at the University of Leicester, this is because shops with self-scanning checkouts give customers ready-made excuses to take away merchandise without paying, and provoke behaviour that allows the self-scanning customers to ‘neutralise’…
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Undermining Democracy: The European Commission’s Controversial Push for Digital Surveillance
The European Commission wants to turn digital communication apps, such as WhatsApp, iMessage, Instagram, TikTok and X, into mass surveillance tools so that digital communications of all EU citizens, including their live conversations, photos and videos, can be automatically scanned for criminal offences.[1] Even of citizens who are not suspected of any crime. This proposal…