The Danish government is considering amendments to a bill that would broaden the Danish Security and Intelligence Service’s (PET) access to citizens’ data. Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard announced the possibility of adjustments during a parliamentary hearing, emphasizing the need to balance security concerns with individual privacy.

Hummelgaard stated that the government is open to modifications that address concerns raised about the bill without compromising its core purpose of strengthening threat assessments and preventing crime. He stressed the importance of providing PET with the necessary tools to protect the safety of Danes.

The bill has faced criticism for potentially enabling mass surveillance by allowing PET to collect data on citizens without suspicion, including personal information and digital traces. While critics argue that this infringes on privacy rights, both the intelligence service and the Justice Minister defend the proposal as a necessary measure to modernize PET’s capabilities in the digital age.

PET aims to use the expanded data access to identify potential threats more effectively, citing examples such as identifying a “Danish Breivik” or a “new Omar El-Hussein” before they can act. Legal Director Morten Duus-Larsen acknowledged the public debate surrounding the bill, explaining that PET operates in secrecy to protect the public, which can lead to misunderstandings about the agency’s methods and tools.

Duus-Larsen illustrated the need for the bill by referencing a scenario where an SSP consultant reported right-wing extremist content being shared on an online gaming platform, including threats of an attack. In such cases, PET seeks to collect data from the platform to analyze the risk and prevent potential tragedies like school shootings or terrorist attacks.

PET clarified that the service would not gain access to types of information it cannot already access today, including information requiring a court order. However, the Danish Institute for Human Rights and Justitia have called for stricter conditions on when PET can collect information, arguing that the current threshold is too low.

Despite concerns about the potential for “false positives,” PET maintains that analysts will process the collected data with the assistance of artificial intelligence to avoid simply generating suspicion based on automated data analysis. The government has postponed the bill’s processing until after the summer holidays to allow for further consideration of its implications.