{"id":4353,"date":"2020-03-31T10:41:34","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T10:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justiceandpeace.nl\/?post_type=story&p=4353"},"modified":"2022-12-13T15:55:32","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T15:55:32","slug":"tobio","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/justiceandpeace.nl\/en\/stories\/tobio\/","title":{"rendered":"Tobio"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Interview by Ines Bouacida<\/em>
\nPhoto by Luca van der Kamp<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much that can go wrong with this new law.\u201d<\/h3>\n
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Something felt wrong to the five students when they found out about the new version of the Intelligence and Security Services Act in August. The bill that the Dutch government was about to pass would allow intelligence services to collect extensive amounts of data of non-target citizens.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

How could a law with such large implications on privacy not be discussed in the public arena?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The five students decided to start a petition asking for a referendum, which gathered 407,582 signatures, way over the needed 300,000. The referendum about the Sleepwet (\u2018drag\u2019 law in English) took place on 21 March 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Now, six months later, they are running the campaign for the \u2018against\u2019, Delete de Sleepwet<\/a>. Tobio became one of them when one of his friends asked whether he would like to join her. He did not hesitate, \u201cAt first I didn\u2019t really know what I was getting into. I noticed that I started to get a lot more opinions about a lot more things and I was already planning to get more into politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u2018Sleepwet\u2019 (\u2018drag\u2019 law in English), a new Dutch legislation that would allow security agencies to collect an extensive amount of data of citizens<\/strong> outside of official investigation of targets. Among the controversial dispositions of this law, massive surveillance of all automated devices of citizens that are not necessarily direct targets and the possibility to share this data with foreign intelligence services without reviewing it beforehand. The supporters of the law claim that such surveillance increases security and can prevent terrorist attacks. Opponents believe that the law violates fundamental freedoms such as the presumption of innocence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Above all, Tobio joined the campaign because the law clashes with his principles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much that can go wrong with this new law. It offers room to injustice. In this case, the right to privacy can be infringed upon without a reason other than the suspicion that someone else might be planning evil acts. I think that should not be allowed\u201d.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He also worries about breaches of patient confidentiality<\/strong> and the principle of source protection of journalists<\/strong>, as well as the \u2018chilling effect\u2019 on free speech<\/strong> that might result from the law.<\/p>\n

He is now the \u2018production supervisor\u2019 of the organisation, which essentially means that he manages the logistics of the campaign. To compensate for their limited capacity, they rely on active citizens, who they supply with campaign materials to advocate against the Sleepwet at their level.\u00a0\u201cWe really set up more of a grassroots level activism.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tobio admits that the campaign came with some struggle. For example, the young age of the organisation and its members was sometimes an obstacle in being taken seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut just through believing in yourself and pressing on, you learn enough to become authoritative enough to talk about it. In the end, authority isn\u2019t everything.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Indeed, Delete de Sleepwet has managed to be a major actor of the campaign. They gained support from Amnesty and the big audience show Zondag met Lubach. The five of them succeeded in bringing the matter to the public attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve managed to stir the discussion and keep it alive.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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