TU Delft admits error in sharing names of activists

TU Delft did not comply with privacy legislation when it passed on the personal data of activists on campus to the police. The university promises to improve.

In early 2024, Delft University of Technology shared the names of five demonstrators from the activist group End Fossil with the police, after the group had announced an occupation on campus. University magazine Delta had uncovered this. It concerned one staff member and four others, probably students. According to the university, this was done on the basis of an agreement with the police.

Privacy

This is not permitted without proper grounds, said the Dutch Data Protection Authority, the privacy watchdog that also oversees the Police Data Act: “The sharing of personal data is only allowed if there is a legal basis for it. An agreement alone is not enough.”

TU Delft now acknowledges that it acted incorrectly. “The provision of personal data must always comply with privacy legislation”, the university writes. “In this case, that was done incompletely.” The institution says it has not shared any other names over the past two years.

The Executive Board will investigate how its agreements with the police can be better implemented in future. It has already been decided that personal data will only be shared with the police ‘after an explicit decision by the Executive Board’. This will allow a check to be made as to whether the data has been shared in accordance with the rules.