Netherlands visa applicant over-stay risk assessments
The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been using an opaque, discriminatory and possibly illegal algorithm to calculate the risk score of short-stay visa applicants applying to enter the Netherlands and Schengen area . Known internally as Informatie Ondersteund Beslissen (IOB), the system uses variables such as nationality, gender and age to profile visa applicants. People categorised as ‘high risk’ are automatically moved to an 'intensive track' that can involve extensive investigation and delay. A ccording to an investigation by journalism collective Lighthouse Reports and NRC , the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' privacy chief had recommended the system be dropped, to no avail. The Ministry had been called out as riddled with 'structural racism' in a report it had commissioned into its culture in 2022. System 🤖 Informatie Ondersteund Beslissen Operator: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Developer: Country: Netherlands Sector: Gov t - immigration Purpose: Assess visa applicant over-stay risk Technology: Risk assessment algorithm Issue: Accountability; Bias/discrimination; Privacy; Transparency Investigations, assessments, audits 👁️ Lighthouse Reports (2023). Ethnic Profiling NRC (2023). https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2023/04/23/beslisambtenarenblijven-profileren-met-risicoscores-a4162837 Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( 2022) Racisme bij het ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken: een verkennend onderzoek (pdf)
- Date it happened
- 2023-01-01
- Organisation involved
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Product, system or model
- Informatie Ondersteund Beslissen (IOB)
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