Belgium’s parliament on Thursday adopted a bill broadening the possibilities offered to State Security agents to commit offences within the framework of their duties.
The draft law, proposed by Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne, also offers agents of the State the possibility of further infiltrating the Internet.
State Security agents may already be active under false identities on social networks, but their activities remain limited. They cannot, for example, “like” a suspicious post. They need to be able to commit offences to gain the confidence of potential perpetrators of terrorist acts, the minister explained.
The bill also has a Defence component, introduced by Minister Ludivine Dedonder. It gives the General Intelligence and Security Service, SGRS, a central role in the event of a national cybersecurity crisis.
The bill was approved by the majority, joined by Les Engagés and DéFI. The N-VA, Vlaams Belang and PTB abstained.
