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/BIK+ strategy is not explicitly referred to in national policies but has informed policy development on children and the digital environment.
• 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.

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 regular data collection on children’s digital activity at the national level. Regular data collection takes place on a more incidental basis. However, there is no systematic data collection on this topic at the country level.
• 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.
• At the moment, no specific national research fund or research programme supported by the Dutch government is available. However, a national Expertise Centre will be established in the spring of 2024 to map the effects of digitalisation on the well-being of people, primarily vulnerable groups such as children.
• 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.

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.
• The broader Dutch strategy on digitalisation, coordinated by the Minister for Digitalisation, is laid down in the Value Driven Digitalisation Work agenda.

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

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.

• Stakeholders are regularly invited to contribute to policy deliberation and development regarding children and the digital environment. However, no designated multi-stakeholder forum or other formal mechanism in this regard exists.
• Members of the public are consulted on occasion in the course of development of new policies. However, this is not always the case. When new legislation is being introduced public consultation will take place. The general public is generally not consulted concerning new policy that is not laid down in legislation such as policy instruments (soft law). However the Youth Council on Digitalisation is regularly consulted in the process of policy development on the protection of children's rights online.
• 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.
• Policy makers actively participate in various EU-level and other international inter-governmental groups related to digital policies for children.

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

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. 

Responses to 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.
• 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).

Addressing 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. NICAM 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 at 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.

Addressing 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 and digital identity systems

• 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.

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 in formal education

• As part of the curriculum renewal, new learning goals, specifically on digital literacy, will be added.
• 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 has an impact on school safety, schools have an obligation to respond.

Empowering through digital skills

• 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 right 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 years 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

• Youth Council on Digitalisation: Children aged eleven to 17 advise the Minister for Digitalisation on digitalisation topics they encounter in their daily lives. The outcomes of the youth council sessions are input for national policy on the protection of children in the digital world.

BIK+ index 2024: 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 2024.