International tasks and activities
Personal data are increasingly processed on a global scale, for a variety of reasons and purposes. International cooperation between data protection and privacy enforcement authorities is therefore of great importance, to ensure everyone’s personal data are properly protected.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA) cooperates considerably on an international level and participates in a number of international fora, especially within Europe.
European Data Protection Board
The Dutch DPA is a member of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). This is an independent European body, which contributes to the consistent application of data protection rules throughout the European Union, and promotes cooperation between the EU’s data protection authorities.
The EDPB is composed of representatives of the national data protection authorities, and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).
For more information, see the website of the EDPB.
Supervision police and justice
The Dutch DPA is a member of the following supervisory bodies on behalf of the Netherlands:
- Europol Cooperation Board;
- Joint Supervisory Body Eurojust;
- Eurodac Supervision Coordination Group;
- Visa Information System Supervision Coordination Group;
- Customs Information System Supervision Coordination Group and Joint Supervisory Authority;
- Schengen Information System II (SIS II) Supervision Coordination Group.
Spring Conference of European Data Protection Authorities
The data protection authorities of the Member States of the Council of Europe meet every spring in a private conference. This conference is used to exchange information on current activities and to discuss common subjects.
International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners
Data protection authorities from all over the world meet every year during the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners, which is also partly open for representatives from industry, non-governmental organisations and academia.
Berlin Group
The International Working Group on Data Protection in Telecommunications (Berlin Group) is one of the working groups in the framework of the International Conference. Its aim is to improve the protection of privacy in telecommunications.
Global Privacy Enhancement Network
The aim of the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) is to foster cross-border co-operation in enforcement activities among data protection and privacy enforcement authorities.
Memorandum of Understanding
To facilitate cooperation and joint investigations, the Dutch DPA agreed upon a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the American Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2015 (updated in 2019) and with the Canadian Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) in 2014.
For more information, see: