In the Netherlands, it has been alleged that the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) has been using fake accounts to track people online.
In the Netherlands, only the police, and secret service are set up to follow people online, however it has been alleged that the Dutch National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) has been engaging in behaviour for which they have no authority, and are not held accountable.
The NCTV exists as a sort of middleman between government agencies, and also sometimes makes its own reports surrounding national security. According to The NL Times, however, "it is nowhere specified how far the coordinator may go in collecting information about persons and organizations."
Whereas members of the police and secret service are kept in check by their supervisors, no such system exists within the NCTV. The NL Times reports that the NCTV has reportedly been following "politicians, left-wing and right-wing activists, and religious leaders for years using fake accounts".
It was reported that he NCTV would send reports with their findings to "municipalities, the police, the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), and foreign security services".
In an interview with Dutch newspaper NRC, NCTV chief Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg admitted that the agency may have done things "for which there was no legal basis", but that they have now stopped.
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