Digital welfare fraud detection and the Dutch SyRI judgment
States worldwide are turning to technology to make the welfare state more efficient and mitigate welfare fraud. In the Netherlands, the state used a digital welfare fraud detection system called Systeem Risico Indicatie. The SyRI was a system that used personal data from different sources and uncovered fraud.
In 2020, a Dutch court decided the SyRI legislation was unlawful because it did not comply with the right to privacy under the European Convention of Human Rights. This is among the first time a court invalidated a welfare fraud detection system for breaching the right to privacy.
Source: Digital welfare fraud detection and the Dutch SyRI judgment
