Minister Hanke Bruins Slot (Internal Affairs) had her ministry check which ministers and state secretaries use private accounts and why. This concerns a total of sixteen ministers, including Minister Dilan Yesilgöz (Justice and Security), Robbert Dijkgraaf (Education), and Sigrid Kaag (Finance).
Reasons
The reason they do this is to edit or print a document, for example. Or they use private email because there are technical limitations and a business account does not work (well), like Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren.
Twelve ministers also used messaging services such as WhatsApp or Telegram.
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If ministers use private e-mail, you cannot guarantee that the messages will end up in the government archives. It is also recommended for security reasons to only use a well-secured work account.
The use of private email is not prohibited, but it is strongly discouraged. Recently, Minister Hugo de Jonge was discredited because he used his private e-mail when he was still the Minister of Health.
No security incidents
Former minister Kamp ran into problems in 2016 because he had state secret information in his private email.
According to Bruins Slot, there are no known security incidents. There is also no reason to think that documents have not been archived, she writes. “In practice, situations can arise where the prescribed working method is deviated from,” she continues.
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