TU Delft will no longer pass activists’ names to police

TU Delft has terminated a controversial covenant with the police. The university will no longer provide personal data of activist students and staff.

The Delft University of Technology passed names of climate activists to the police, wrote university paper Delta last February. The cooperation between the university and the police was set out in a special covenant.

There are sometimes protests at TU Delft against cooperation with the fossil fuel industry. Ahead of one of those protests the university provided the police with the names of potential protesters: four students and one staff member.

The news drew criticism from human rights organisation Amnesty International and the Dutch Data Protection Authority also demanded clarification, given the ‘serious infringement’ on these activists’ fundamental rights. The board was also troubled by it and offered apologies.

Use and necessity

The covenant has now been terminated, Delta reports. “We have looked together with the police at the usefulness and necessity of the covenant”, said Executive Board chair Ingrid Thijssen to the works council and student council. “We have decided to stop it.”

From now on names will only be passed on if there is no other option, for example for a criminal investigation or in acute, life-threatening situations. But a covenant is not needed for that.