A majority of citizens are critical of the government’s proposal to expand the Police Intelligence Service’s (PET) access to large amounts of data about citizens. According to a survey, a significant number of citizens are worried about the prospect of mass surveillance.

The proposal would allow PET to collect data on citizens without suspicion, including health information, publicly available data, and information from other authorities. Critics argue this amounts to mass surveillance, though the police assert they will not gain access to information types they don’t already have access to today, with court orders remaining applicable.

The engineering association IDA conducted a survey showing that 51 percent of respondents want the bill amended or rejected, while only 24 percent support it in its current form. IDA chairman Laura Klitgaard stated many citizens are concerned about PET collecting and analyzing large datasets using artificial intelligence.

A hearing on the bill is scheduled in the Danish Parliament (Folketinget), aiming to strengthen threat assessments and prevent crime. Several parties in the Danish Parliament are skeptical and advocate for a privacy commission to map the extent of surveillance.

Following criticism, the government postponed legislative processing until after the summer holidays. Twenty-five organizations and several researchers have proposed a privacy commission. While Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard initially rejected the idea, he has since become more open to it.

The survey indicates that 54 percent of respondents support a privacy commission to assess the balance between surveillance and legal certainty. Furthermore, 66 percent believe the proposal could prevent serious crime, while 59 percent think it will strengthen national security.

Laura Klitgaard emphasized that while PET needs good tools, introducing mass surveillance to find potential criminals is too far-reaching. 66 percent of respondents fear that innocent citizens will be monitored, and 56 percent believe innocent people will be suspected.

Concerns are also raised regarding PET’s potential purchase of data analysis software from a non-European supplier. PET currently utilizes an analysis tool from the American tech company Palantir, and this collaboration might be expanded.

Klitgaard stressed the need for guarantees against back doors in the system that could be exploited by the supplier or hackers if the government proceeds with profiling every citizen.

The survey, conducted by Norstat for the engineering association from July 18 to 31, 2025, involved 2019 citizens. Nearly half of the respondents were not previously aware of the bill but were informed about relevant parts before answering the survey.