To the front page

11/1 Jurists want to stay in Oudemanhuispoort

8/2 Mayor’s portrait

8/2 Websites for social cohesion

7/2 Spreading tourism proceeds with difficulty

7/2 GroenLinks on districts: Be a man

6/2 Zuideramstel opens new office on Sabbath

5/2 The truth about integration

4/2 Wilders has little support on Amsterdam

3/2 Elite involved in neighbourhood

2/2 Johnnie Walker avoids taxes in Amsterdam

1/2 Rotterdam to tinker with district councils as well

31/1 Wooden rowing boats to disappear from Amstel

31/1 ZeeburgTV launched

27/1 Privacy activists to mess up loyalty card system

27/1 A few were still coughing, but that was an act

27/1 Chrisis in de Baarsjes

26/1 Youth have positive view of districts

24/1 Action groups call for Carmel and Jaffa boycott

24/1 PvdA members dismiss plan for districts

23/1 KLM takes on crisis with new uniform

23/1 District office not squatted

21/1 Merge districts

20/1 Closing squat bar Vrankrijk not necessary

20/1 Cleaners welcome new Schiphol director

18/1 Palestine at the Jewish Historical Museum

18/1 What is the right size for a district?

17/1 PvdA Oost against fewer districts

16/1 Committee: 7 districts by 2010

15/1 Soldiers may attend Afghanistan debate after all

15/1 Bait bike leads to arrest

14/1 Youth for Christ to republish vacancies

13/1 Paintings of the Zuidas

13/1 New Youth for Christ contoversy

11/1 Social cohesion initiative raises eyebrows

10/1 Fewer districts in 2010

10/1 Zuidas: People feel that we are losers

9/1 Fun on the ice - but not for all

9/1 Supermarket coupon fraud thwarted

9/1 I Amsterdam must remain exclusive

8/1 Use term Apartheid in every discussion

8/1 No city kiosk in Amsterdam yet

7/1 Snow

7/1 Fatima Elatik to run Zeeburg

7/1 Municipal managers to return to shop floor

4/1 Police: take photo of strange people

3/1 Gaza protest criticises politicians

1/1 Thousands to protest against attacks on Gaza

1/1 Mustapha Laboui leaves district council

2008 Archive

2007 Archive

2006 Archive

2005 Archive

Amsterdam to monitor privacy and freedom

20 December 2008 – The municipality is going to develop indicators to monitor the loss of privacy and personal freedom caused by measures to increase security. The monitor was proposed by Ivar Manuel (D66).

According to Manuel, personal freedom is increasingly being curtailed by measures that aim to increase security. “These measures are being fed by a fear of robbery, a fear of terrorism, a fear of Moroccans. There is an enormous pressure to deal with these issues, not least from our liberal sister party VVD”.

Measures that have been taken include camera surveillance, stop-and-search, harassment of suspects, administrative arrests, the ban on smoking hash in public, the closure of coffee shops selling soft drugs and the ban on magic mushrooms.

In a debate, Mayor Job Cohen acknowledged that these measures may affect citizens’ personal freedom. Manuel proposed to introduce indicators to monitor the impact on personal freedom and privacy, in addition to the indicators that are being used to monitor security.

Cohen welcomed the suggestion. In the past, Manuel has criticised the mayor for introducing repressive measures at the expense of personal freedom.

Next Monday, Manuel will meet with Meindert Fennema of the University of Amsterdam to discuss ways to measure freedom and privacy. The issue has also been discussed with the Accounting Office. The idea is to introduce both objective and subjective measures.

Manuel says that measuring the impact of measures on freedom and privacy may lead to the conclusion that some of these measures should be reversed.

Photo: Netream

Want to receive News from Amsterdam? Click here