Secretary Hanky ​​Bruins Slot (Home Affairs) has asked her department to verify which ministers and secretaries of state use private accounts and why. This relates to a total of sixteen ministers, including Minister Dylan Yeselgos (Justice and Security), Robert Dijgraf (Education), and Sigrid Kaag (Finance).

the reasons

The reason they do this is to edit or print a document, for example. Or they use a private email due to technical limitations and a business account that doesn’t work (well), like Defense Minister Kajsa Olongren.

Twelve ministers also used messaging services such as WhatsApp or Telegram.

If ministers use private mail, you cannot guarantee that the letters will end up in the government archives. It is also recommended, for security reasons, to use only a well-secured business account.

The use of private email is not prohibited, but it is not strongly recommended. Recently, Minister Hugo de Jong lost his credibility because he used his private email when he was still Minister of Health.

No security incidents

Former Secretary Camp ran into trouble in 2016 because he had classified information about the state in his private email.

According to Bruins Slot, there are no known security incidents. She also writes that there is no reason to believe that the documents were not archived. “In practice, situations can arise where the described style of work deviates from it,” she continues.