Netherlands holds 4.02 % of the EU population. Its government is on record against mandatory scanning of private messages, since 26 Nov 2025.
Against Last checked 22 October 2026
Samenvatting in het Nederlands
Volgens dit register is de Nederlandse regering tegen verplichte scanning van privéberichten. Op 25 november 2025 nam de Tweede Kamer een motie aan die de regering opdroeg tegen het onderhandelingsmandaat van de Raad te stemmen; het kabinet was van plan zich te onthouden. Op 26 november 2025 stemde Nederland tegen.
Op 18 september 2026 schreef minister van Justitie en Veiligheid David van Weel in antwoord op Kamervragen dat er geen ruimte is om voorstellen te steunen die end-to-end-encryptie onmogelijk maken, die verplichte detectie opleggen voor de privécommunicatie van alle burgers, of die detectie in versleutelde diensten vereisen die in de praktijk alleen met client-side scanning mogelijk is. In juni 2026 steunde Nederland in de Raad detectie in openbare content en betwijfelde het of gerichte detectiebevelen ooit gebruikt zouden worden. In juli 2026 stemde Nederland voor Chat Control 1.0, de terugkeer van vrijwillig scannen.
Op 9 juli 2026 stemden 22 van de 31 in Nederland gekozen Europarlementariërs voor verwerping van Chat Control 1.0 en 5 tegen verwerping. Verantwoordelijk is minister David van Weel (VVD). Nederland vertegenwoordigt 4,02 % van de EU-bevolking.
Samenvatting per 10 oktober 2026. Het Engelstalige register hieronder is leidend en noemt bij elk gegeven een bron.
What the government has said
“We are against it, and I will say so loud and clear.”Justice and Security Minister Foort van Oosten to the Tweede Kamer, 2 October 2025, translated from Dutch
Receipt: Tweede Kamer motion instructing a vote against, adopted 25 Nov 2025
Parliament ordered a no vote on the mandate; the cabinet had planned to abstain. Supports detection in public content and doubts targeted orders would ever be used (June 2026). On 18 Sep 2026 the minister told parliament there is “no room” to support proposals that make end-to-end encryption impossible, impose mandatory detection on all citizens’ private communications, or require detection in encrypted services that in practice only client-side scanning could carry out.
How it voted in the Council
- Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025
- no The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.
- Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026
- yes The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.
A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.
How its MEPs voted
On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 31 MEPs elected in Netherlands, 22 voted to reject it, 5 voted against rejection, 0 abstained and 4 did not vote.
- 22 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
- 5 against rejection, letting the text pass
- 0 abstained
- 4 did not vote
The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.
Who decides in Netherlands
- Minister
- David van Weel, Minister of Justice and Security (VVD) in the Jetten cabinet since 23 Feb 2026. The line of 2 Oct 2025 was given by his predecessor Foort van Oosten. State Secretary Claudia van Bruggen (D66)
- Ministry in charge
- Ministry of Justice and Security
- Permanent representation
- Ambassador Pieter Jan Kleiweg de Zwaan, Permanent Representative (Coreper II, since Feb 2024); Carola van Rijnsoever, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)
- National parliament
- Tweede Kamer: a motion adopted on 25 Nov 2025 instructed the government to vote against the mandate; the file is debated in the Justice and Security committee before each JHA Council, as on 2 Oct 2025
Timeline
- In written answers to MP Barbara Kathmann, Justice Minister David van Weel says there is “no room” to support proposals that make end-to-end encryption impossible, impose mandatory detection on all citizens’ private communications, or require detection in encrypted services that in practice only client-side scanning could carry out. source
- Correction: the statement of 2 October 2025 was made by Foort van Oosten as Minister of Justice and Security, not as State Secretary, as this record said until today. source
- Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. Netherlands: yes.
- European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in Netherlands: 22 for rejection, 5 against, 0 abstained, 4 did not vote. source
- The Jetten cabinet (D66, VVD, CDA) takes office; David van Weel returns as Minister of Justice and Security. source
- Recorded as against. Receipt: Tweede Kamer motion instructing a vote against, adopted 25 Nov 2025 source
- Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. Netherlands: no.
Sources
- Tweede Kamer motion instructing a vote against, adopted 25 Nov 2025 (receipt)
- Committee debate record, 2 Oct 2025
- Vote against the mandate, 26 Nov 2025 (CTK)
- Council minutes, 10 Jun 2026 (supports detection in public content), via netzpolitik.org
- Minister’s answers to MP Barbara Kathmann on chat control, 18 Sep 2026 (Tweede Kamer)
- Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU, Permanent Representative
- Method: what the labels mean and where the population shares come from
This page is one of 27 records behind Where the 27 governments stand. Together the governments against hold 32.9 % of the EU population; a blocking minority needs more than 35 %.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Data for all 27: JSON · CSV. Found a mistake? Tell us; we correct openly and say what changed.
Cite as: Brussels Record, “Netherlands: position on Chat Control”, last checked 22 October 2026, https://brusselsrecord.com/member-states/netherlands/
