The Dutch government proposed a policy rule that special powers have to be applied in as targeted a manner as possible. Arguably, the services are already bound by the general principle of proportionality, but introducing such a requirement in the intelligence law adds an accountability dimension and reinforces the need to deploy bulk collection methods only when less intrusive means are not able to achieve a given objective. The Dutch oversight body, TIB (Review Board for the Use of Powers), is requested to include the as-focused-as-possible principle in its regularity review, and the Dutch review body, the CTIVD (Dutch Review Committee on the Intelligence and Security Services), is tasked to report on this.

The Dutch intelligence law does not differentiate between national and foreign communications, thereby granting the same privacy protections to all. Given the unresolved technical challenge to accurately distinguish between national and non-national communications data, let alone the constitutional and human rights challenges to such an approach, this appears to be the most consistent and rights-based solution to the problem.

Avoiding discrimination based on citizenship in national intelligence laws does entail the risk, however, that a lower standard of privacy protections will be adopted for both citizens and non-citizens alike. This is simply because equalizing safeguards on a lower level appears to be easier and would allow for broader data collection than if the bar were raised for all. Ideally, national intelligence laws will aim for the highest possible protection for all communications data collection, regardless of the citizenship of the population under surveillance.

The first phase of the SIGINT process involves the identification and formulation of intelligence priorities. The process of strategic planning should draw on insights from previous assessments of collected intelligence and their value after analysis.