Better Internet for Kids

Here, we take an in-depth look at the latest monitoring information for the Netherlands.

BIK policies

Policy design asks whether evidence and research support BIK-related policies and whether systems are in place for monitoring and evaluating those policies.

Policy frameworks

Policy frameworks describe the overarching approach for a better internet, and establish the underlying goals, principles and guidelines that shape individual policies within this area.

In the Netherlands:

• This topic is an important and emerging policy priority, with children’s online protection, digital empowerment, and digital participation partially covered in national/regional laws, regulations and policies.
• There are separate, dedicated policies that address children and the digital environment (protection, empowerment, and participation).
• The BIK+ strategy is an important influence on policy development on children and the digital environment (i.e., it informs and guides national policies even if they do not directly refer to BIK+).
• National/regional policies and policy documents explicitly recognise children's rights in the digital environment.

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for detailed information on key national policy frameworks in the Netherlands.

Read the full 2025 edition of the Policy monitor report. 

Policy design

Policy design asks whether evidence and research support BIK-related policies and whether systems are in place for monitoring and evaluating those policies.

• There is no data collection on children’s digital activity at the country level.
• However, regular (e.g., annual or bi-annual) surveys include measures of children’s experiences of risks, harms and digital well-being.
• Information is regularly gathered to inform policies on children and the digital environment. However, this relies primarily on third-party sources, and there are limited opportunities to commission new data on children’s digital activity.
• Regarding research funding, there are occasional special initiatives to gather evidence about children and the digital environment.
• Policies undergo systematic and regular monitoring and evaluation to assess the effectiveness of actions in different contexts and to take account of new technologies or emergent risks. In general, policy is evaluated once every four to seven years in a policy review.

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for detailed information on recent national research studies in the Netherlands.

Read the full 2025 edition of the Policy monitor report. 

Policy governance

Policy governance examines how policies are coordinated at the governmental level, whether other implementation bodies are involved in their delivery, and whether structured mechanisms are available to guide their implementation.

• The lead ministry, public agency or regulatory authority is an informal arrangement depending on the requirements at a particular point in time.
• Coordination of policies and their implementation is distributed across multiple entities.
• Government policy has yet to be developed into an implementable action plan at this point, but this is under development.  

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for detailed information on key policy governance mechanisms in the Netherlands.

Read the full 2025 edition of the Policy monitor report. 

Stakeholder involvement

Stakeholder involvement enquires how different stakeholders can participate in policy development. Children’s involvement in policy-making is one such key issue. Additionally, international knowledge exchange about children's digital participation is also relevant to this topic.

• Various groups exist across different branches of government, in which stakeholders may contribute to policy discussion and development.
• Members of the public are consulted on occasion in the course of the development of new policies. However, this is not always the case.
• Public consultation is infrequent and irregular.
• Children are listened to directly in the policy development process (e.g., through hearings, consultations, specific surveys) but are not formally involved in decision-making.

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for detailed information on crucial stakeholder involvement mechanisms in the Netherlands.

Read the full 2025 edition of the Policy monitor report. 

BIK+ actions

Pillar 1 – safe digital experiences

Safe digital experiences refer to actions taken to protect children from harmful and illegal online content, conduct, contact, and risks as young consumers and to improve their well-being online through a safe, age-appropriate digital environment created in a way that respects children’s best interests. 

Implementing EU laws

• The national implementing law is currently being prepared to be discussed in Parliament. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) was assigned as the Digital Services Coordinator.
• The SIC partner, Offlimits, which has a special focus on child sexual abuse and exploitation, has applied to become a trusted flagger. 

Harmful online content

• Definitions of harmful audiovisual content are not specified by law. However, the Minister of Education, Culture and Science designates an organisation, NICAM, which draws up rules on the classification of audiovisual content. The Media Act only specifies categories that should be included in those rules but gives no definition.
• The organisation designated by the Minister is organised in a way of ‘conditioned self-regulation’. The media service provider has to classify their content themselves, according to the rules of NICAM. It develops the classification mechanism and trains the ‘classifiers’. Broadcasters have to join NICAM if they want to broadcast potentially harmful content.
• In the audiovisual domain, children (or their parents) can complain to NICAM if they consider the classification of the NICAM system to be inadequate. A formal complaint can also be filed at the Dutch Media Authority if the media service provider does not comply with the law. 

Harmful online conduct

• The non-consensual sharing of intimate images, or ‘revenge porn’ can be prosecuted in the Netherlands via Article 139h of the Criminal Code as of January 1, 2020. It is currently still regarded as a crime against public order, but after the entry into force of the Sexual Offenses Act, it will be regarded as a sexual offence.
• Regarding cyberbullying, schools have an obligation to create a safe learning environment for pupils. This means that when cyberbullying impacts school safety, schools have an obligation to respond. Stichting School en Veiligheid offers information and advice for schools on how they can respond to cyberbullying. Also, as part of the curriculum renewal, new learning goals, specifically on digital literacy, will be added.
• No national legislation specifically protects children and young people from cyberbullying. However, many forms of (cyber) bullying of persons, regardless of age, are punishable and therefore prosecutable in the Netherlands. Examples include harassment, intimidation, stalking or doxing (dissemination of personal data for intimidation). The government funds a helpline where children and adults can get all kinds of help (Helpwanted, part of Offlimits).”
• In the Netherlands, the use of personal data for harassment purposes—also known as doxing—has been criminalised since 1 January 2024.

Age verification 

• In the Netherlands, a preliminary framework has been developed that helps developers and providers of online services and products pick the right form of age assessment. There is no one-size-fits-all method for age verification. The assessment of the appropriate age assessment method is dependent on the characteristics of an online service or product. This framework is designed to help assess which age assessment method is appropriate, taking into account robustness, privacy, safety and accessibility.
• For the Dutch digital identity system DigiD, it is obligatory that children older than 14 years apply the DigiD themselves. From age 14 the usage of one’s digital identity is strictly personal. If the child is below the age of 14, the parent or caregiver is obliged to help the child with applying for DigiD. Having a DigiD as a minor is, among others, useful for making online healthcare appointments, applying for student grants or opening a bank account.

Commercial content

• There is a Code of Conduct for Influencer Marketing from the self-regulatory organisation for advertising in the Netherlands (SRC): Advertising Code for Social Media & Influencer Marketing (RSM). Although this code is non-statutory, registration at the SRC is a statutory obligation for certain influencers with large followings and active on the major social media platforms, as stated in the Dutch Media Law (Mediawet).

Pillar 2 – digital empowerment

Digital empowerment incorporates actions so that all children, including those in vulnerable situations, acquire the necessary skills and competences to make sound choices and express themselves in the online environment safely and responsibly.

Supports for online safety education

• As part of the curriculum renewal, new learning goals will be added, specifically on digital literacy.
• There is a national agreement for schools to ban phones from classrooms. Schools also have an obligation to create a safe learning environment for pupils. This means that when cyberbullying impacts school safety, schools have an obligation to respond. 

Digital literacy skills to empower young people

• The Media Literacy Network is supported for this purpose by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. This is an extensive program to strengthen media literacy among all Dutch people. The program pays extra attention to young people (through education) and the vulnerable (through, for example, healthcare and welfare institutions).
• More than 1,000 partners are affiliated with the Media Literacy Network. The network has developed the so-called MediaDiamant for parents. This is a tool for parents to have the proper conversation with their children about media use. Enjoying the possibilities, preventing risks, guiding your child, knowing which content is suitable and maintaining a healthy balance are important topics. The MediaDiamant is for parents with children aged 0 to 18 and has been developed by experts and scientists.
• To better equip parents and children to deal well with digital products and services, a multi-year public communication is being established. This communication will start in the autumn of this year and will address different aspects of the risks for children when being online. It will be aimed at children and their parents/carers.

Pillar 3 – active participation, respecting children’s rights

Active participation, respecting children’s rights, refers to actions which give children and young people a say in the digital environment, with more child-led activities to foster innovative and creative safe digital experiences.

Active participation

• The Youth Council on Digitalisation comprises children aged eleven to 17 who advise the Minister for Digitalisation on digitalisation topics they encounter daily. The outcomes of the youth council sessions are input for national policy on protecting children in the digital world.
• The Youth Panel of the Safer Internet Centre consists of 17 young people aged 12-18, who advise the Safer Internet Centre on a variety of activities. Discussions about emerging trends, helping with the awareness campaigns and sharing their input on SIC services.

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for the Netherlands.

Read the full 2025 edition of the Policy monitor report. 

BIK+ index 2025: the Netherlands

The BIK+ index has been developed to provide an aggregated at-a-glance overview of the levels of implementation across the two dimensions, BIK policies and BIK+ actions, in the Netherlands compared to the EU27+2 average. Values are shown in per cent.

Please note, the data used in this page and the corresponding country profile was collected in February 2025.