The “SyRI” welfare fraud risk-scoring algorithm
Under the guise of detecting potential welfare and tax fraud, the Dutch government introduced a computerised system (System Risk Indication or “SyRI”) that profiled individuals based on vast pools of personal and sensitive data that had been collected from a range of public bodies.
The coalition took a case to a court in The Hague arguing that the law underpinning SyRI should be overturned because it was in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. They believed that SyRI was used to unfairly target people as being likely to commit fraud based on their place of living or socio-economic background.
The “SyRI” welfare fraud risk-scoring algorithm
Organisation Name
A coalition of NGOs, the Dutch trade union federation and two citizens, led by the Public Interest Litigation Project (PILP-NJCM) and Platform Bescherming Burgerrechten
Country/Jurisdiction
The Netherlands
Amount Granted
EUR 60,990
Current Status
Case won
Grant type
Single Instance Litigation Support
Description
Under the guise of detecting potential welfare and tax fraud, the Dutch government introduced a computerised system (System Risk Indication or “SyRI”) that profiled individuals based on vast pools of personal and sensitive data that had been collected from a range of public bodies.
The coalition took a case to a court in The Hague arguing that the law underpinning SyRI should be overturned because it was in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. They believed that SyRI was used to unfairly target people as being likely to commit fraud based on their place of living or socio-economic background.
In early 2020, the courts ruled that the SyRI system’s use was a violation of the right to privacy, marking an important step towards protecting some of society’s most marginalised groups. This was one of the first cases in Europe to challenge state use of “predictive policing” risk-scoring software, and could have implications for the widespread challenge of such technologies in policing and other areas.
The case received widespread coverage, both domestically and internationally. The coalition behind the case believe that public opinion in the Netherlands has shifted from not caring or not seeing the problem with such data-driven systems to wide recognition that using such systems to target individuals is a controversial practice.
"The courts ruled that the SyRI system’s use was a violation of the right to privacy, marking an important step towards protecting some of society’s most marginalised groups"
Strategic Goal
To prevent privacy and other human rights violations and limit the processing of data for use in risk-scoring. To generate public debate and raise awareness about how human rights issues deriving from SyRI and other predictive policing tools concern all citizens.
Organisation Name
Women’s Link Worldwide
Image credit: Shepard Fairey in London: Big Brother Is Watching YOU CC BY-NC-ND 2.0