RTL News revealed in early 2021 that call center employees of the GGD traded on a large scale in the personal data of Dutch people that they retrieved from the corona systems of the GGD. The information was widely downloaded by them and resold online to criminals.
According to the GGD, the private data of about 1,250 Dutch people from the corona systems have been viewed unauthorized, stolen and possibly resold. But research by RTL News showed that the data theft is much larger than reported.
6.5 million people affected
The ICAM Foundation, the organization behind the mass claim, agrees and says that a total of 6.5 million people could have been victims of the data theft. For many people it is still not clear whether their data has been stolen, but it is possible that this could have happened.
For these people, ICAM demands compensation of 500 euros per person. According to the ICAM Foundation, the 1,250 people who are certain to have been victims should receive compensation of 1,500 euros, instead of the 500 euros offered.
If the claim is upheld in full, the amount of compensation would amount to around 3 billion euros.
Subpoenas
Today, ICAM is handing over summonses to 35 authorities, including the Ministry of Health, the national GGD GHOR Nederland, regional GGDs, security regions and the municipalities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
So far, 133,619 people have joined the claim.
The claim for damages is directed against the Ministry of Health, because, according to the initiators of the claim, this ministry is responsible for “the design of the IT systems used by the GGDs.”
Keep government on track
According to the ICAM Foundation, the claim for damages is about more than just money. With the lawsuit, the foundation says it wants more openness from the government, which would withhold reports. “What’s the situation? What has been the impact of the data breach? What measures have been taken? What needs to be improved?”, explains a spokesperson.
Moreover, the foundation says it wants to prevent things going wrong again. “It is important to keep the government on its toes. Normal companies get a hefty fine. If I do something like that I will be bankrupt tomorrow, but nothing will happen with the government itself. Compensation is a financial incentive to do better,” says a spokesperson.
The ICAM Foundation expects that a lawsuit, due to all the intermediate steps, can last at least until 2026.
