Privacy Commissioner Margrethe Nielsen's commitment to mass surveillance hit an awkward snag Thursday when she accidentally shared her screen during the virtual EU Chat Control vote, revealing a Signal messenger inbox folder labeled "Things We Can't Let The Peasants See."
When confronted about the apparent double standard, Nielsen defended her use of the encrypted messaging app while simultaneously sending a Signal message reading "Quick reminder: Delete this chat before the plebs see it" to her staff. "You have to understand, some conversations are too sensitive for regular people to have privately," she explained while quickly closing various encrypted chat windows.
Internal documents leaked later that day revealed Nielsen had distributed official government letterhead marked "TOP SECRET: Operation Do As I Say Not As I Do" instructing her entire department to "immediately download Signal and set messages to self-destruct within 60 seconds."
The commissioner's office has since issued a statement clarifying that privacy-protecting tools are "completely acceptable when used by the right people." The statement did not specify who qualified as "the right people" but was sent via an encrypted ProtonMail account.
Adding to the controversy, expense reports surfaced showing Nielsen had billed taxpayers €599 monthly for a "military-grade encryption subscription" labeled as "office supplies." When questioned, her office insisted the expense was necessary for "routine administrative communications about lunch orders."
In the wake of the scandal, Nielsen's official EU Commission biography was quietly updated to list "Rules for thee but not for me" as her primary area of expertise. The update was pushed through using an encrypted government channel.
