Entry into effect of the Data Processing by Partnerships Act
The Data Processing by Partnerships Act (Wet gegevensverwerking door samenwerkingsverbanden (WGS)) will take effect on 1 March 2025. This law clarifies the strict conditions under which information can be processed within 4 existing healthcare and security partnerships in the fight against organised crime and in tackling money laundering and criminal assets.
The WGS provides clear agreements on how data are processed collectively to prevent information from becoming fragmented or there being a lack of clarity about what to do. At the same time, safeguards are put in place to ensure that this data processing is carried out carefully and correctly.
The law relates to 4 existing partnerships:
- The Care and Safety Houses (ZVHs) when it comes to complex problems that transcend the criminal, care and municipal domains, such as domestic violence, (youth) crime and misunderstood, seriously confused behaviour.
- The Regional Information and Expertise Centres (RIECs), which are fighting organised and undermining crime.
- The Financial Expertise Centre (FEC), whose goal is to enhance the integrity of the financial sector and, by doing so, reduce illicit financial flows in and through the Netherlands.
- The Criminal and Unaccountable Assets Infobox (iCOV), which drafts reports that can be used to trace the location of hidden and potentially criminal or tax-evaded assets.
The law was published in Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2024, 198 in June. The Data Processing by Partnerships Decree further elaborates the data processing and safeguards under this law. This order in council was published today in Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2024, 380 and also regulates entry into force from 1 March 2025.