The Infinite Brief

The UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, applauded the verdict and said it was “a clear victory for all those who are justifiably concerned about the serious threats digital welfare systems pose for human rights”.

The decision “sets a strong legal precedent for other courts to follow”, he added.

A broad coalition of privacy and welfare rights groups, backed by the largest Dutch trade union, argued that poor neighborhoods and their inhabitants were being spied on digitally without any concrete suspicion of individual wrongdoing.