4 ms·

Not really, the point of Dutch privacy law (and similar EU laws) in this context is not to deter a dedicated investigator, but to merely put enough of a hurdle

by avar 7y ago

Not really, the point of Dutch privacy law (and similar EU laws) in this context is not to deter a dedicated investigator, but to merely put enough of a hurdle in place that everyone reading the article won't see the names of suspects, and they won't show up in web searches etc.

gpvos 7y ago
The convention (I don't think it's actually a law) existed before web searches, but it's a nice side effect.
xaitv 7y ago
Iirc it's not even an actual law, more of an agreement between all news organizations to not publish names like that. I seem to recall Geenstijl(Dutch "news" site) publishing full names and not getting in trouble over it.
- Fnoord 7y ago
  Geenstijl doesn't have high journalist standards.
  - wwwhizz 7y ago
    But they do have to follow the law, which is his point.
    - Fnoord 7y ago
      Sometimes there is no law necessary because an industry regulates themselves. Which the Dutch press historically has done so, in this example.
nightchalk16 7y ago
Not true. Not mentioning lastnames is only a convention by journalists and the media. Publishing lastnames in the media is not a violation of the law. News website geenstijl.nl regularly publishes full names of suspects or criminals. The convention already existed before the internet. Update: I should have read more comments...
krageon 7y ago
If the bar for being a "dedicated investigator" is copy-pasting a string and paying 2.50, I think we just have different views on this. Your views about the intent of specific laws aren't relevant, as there are AFAIK no laws about news publications that apply to what we are talking about.