The message comes from the Executive Board, together with service departments LISA, Strategic Business Development and knowledge security experts. The UT points out, among other things, the halting of research funding by the US, restricting access to previously public research data and censorship in fields such as climate change, health and gender studies.
Data security
The political consternation in the US may have consequences for UT employees. That is why, for example, the advice is to avoid sensitive or confidential data on servers and cloud services in the US. A remarkable advice, since the UT uses software from the American company Microsoft across the board, whereby UT employees have access to cloud storage OneDrive. Data stored in it ends up in Microsoft's cloud and can be requested by the US government because of the so-called 'Patriot Act'.
Travel risks
The UT also warns employees who want to travel to the US. Authorities can check for critical messages about the United States, and border authorities can search or seize electronic devices. Once again, the call is to be careful with sensitive and confidential information. Attention is also paid to possible risks for LGBTIQ+ people in the case of access to healthcare. In doing so, the UT explicitly refers to the travel advice on Netherlands Worldwide.
Controversial questionnaire
There is also a warning in response to the controversial questionnaire that previously landed in the mailbox of Wageningen scientists. A recent inventory by U-Today showed that UT employees did not (yet) receive such a questionnaire. The UT calls on employees to report such requests for information from the US to the knowledge security team.
Academic freedom
The Executive Board concludes the message by expressing concern about the impact of developments in the US. 'And specifically about the threat to scientific freedom and international scientific cooperation in and with the United States'. That is why the UT also signed the statement of ALLEA, the European umbrella organisation of academies, on 'increasing threats to academic freedom'.
