How can we prevent sensitive knowledge from leaking abroad? Or stop Dutch expertise from being used to strengthen the militaries of China, Russia, or North Korea?

Universities, universities of applied sciences, and other knowledge institutions (or individual researchers) must assess for themselves each time whether knowledge security could be at risk when collaborating with researchers from abroad. And that is no easy task.

After a series of striking revelations about China’s far-reaching influence in academia, concerns about knowledge security have grown—following years of enthusiasm about the benefits of collaboration.

Attic

In 2022, then Minister of Education Robbert Dijkgraaf (D66) said higher education had been naïve. Universities and universities of applied sciences needed to “clean out the attic,” as he put it. His ministry also wanted to start screening foreign researchers coming to the Netherlands.

For now, however, institutions must rely on their own judgment. They can turn to the government’s Knowledge Security Desk with questions about international collaboration; it opened in January 2022 and is consulted more than a hundred times a year.

And yes, such inquiries quickly involve individuals. Still, the desk does everything it can to avoid receiving information about them. “Do not send direct personal data to the Desk,” the website states. “For example, details such as name, address, email address, phone number, publications, CV, or photo.”

Freek Vonk

You are not even allowed to share indirect personal data—information that, when combined, can easily point to a specific individual. For instance, if you describe an endowed professor of biology who travels frequently and often appears on television, many people will immediately know you are referring to Freek Vonk. Academic fields are small, and everyone knows each other.

But if the information remains that vague, how can meaningful advice be given? The government has received “signals” that the desk sometimes processes personal data anyway. It is therefore proposing legislation that would formally grant the Knowledge Security Desk the authority to handle such personal data.

This would also allow the processing of personal data “of a criminal nature.” So if the desk becomes aware that a particular researcher has been prosecuted for espionage or theft of trade secrets, that information may soon be used.

Surprised

The proposal is unlikely to face major opposition. In fact, politicians will probably be more surprised that the desk has not been allowed to know the names and identities of researchers until now.

In any case, the proposal has now been published online for public consultation. Anyone can submit feedback. Taking that input into account, the government may revise the proposal before submitting it to the Council of State. After its review, the proposal will go to the House of Representatives.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.