Media law compliance in the Netherlands: rules for businesses

Media law compliance for a Dutch business means applying four sets of rules at once: EU platform rules such as the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Media Act (Mediawet 2008), copyright and portrait rights, and advertising, consumer and privacy law. Which obligations apply depends on the role of your service, not on its size or label, and one company often has several roles.

Enforcement in the Netherlands is shared by the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, AP) and the Dutch Media Authority (Commissariaat voor de Media). Competitors and consumer organisations can also go to court.

Which media law rules apply to your business?

Start from your role. A company that only publishes its own content has mainly copyright and advertising obligations; a company that hosts content uploaded by others is an intermediary service under the DSA.

A business whose video channel has a substantial audience may qualify as a commercial on-demand media service under the Media Act, with a registration duty at the Dutch Media Authority. Write down which role each service has, because a regulator will ask that first. Our introduction to નેધરલેન્ડ્સમાં મીડિયા કાયદો maps the field.

What does the Digital Services Act require?

The DSA scales its duties by role: every intermediary needs a single point of contact and clear terms of service, hosting services need a notice-and-action mechanism, and online platforms carry further duties. The Dutch implementing act (Uitvoeringswet digitaledienstenverordening) took effect on 4 February 2025.

Hosting services must give a statement of reasons to a user whose content they restrict. Online platforms also need an internal complaints system, must cooperate with out-of-court dispute settlement, handle notices from trusted flaggers with priority and may not use interface designs that distort users’ choices. Marketplaces must verify traders before letting them sell.

Advertising on platforms must be recognisable as such, identify the advertiser and disclose the main targeting parameters. Ads based on profiling with special categories of personal data, or aimed at users known to be minors, are prohibited.

Under Article 2.1 of the implementing act, the ACM is the Dutch Digital Services Coordinator. The AP supervises the provisions that concern personal data. The European Commission supervises very large online platforms and search engines directly, and enforces the Digital Markets Act against designated gatekeepers. See our articles on the ડિજિટલ સર્વિસીસ એક્ટ અને ડિજિટલ માર્કેટ્સ એક્ટ અને ઓનલાઈન જાહેરાત પર DSA નિયમો.

What does the AI Act mean for your content?

For content producers, the AI Act matters mainly through its transparency duties: people must know when they interact with an AI system, and deepfakes and AI-generated text on matters of public interest must be disclosed. The prohibitions on unacceptable AI practices have applied since 2 February 2025.

The obligations for high-risk AI systems have been postponed by the AI omnibus, Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, which entered into force on 27 July 2026. A marketing department using generative tools therefore has transparency obligations now, while the high-risk regime follows later. Liability for damage caused by AI output is assessed under ordinary Dutch law, including product liability and tort (Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code, BW).

Our guides on AI નીતિ બનાવવી અને પ્રતિબંધિત AI પ્રથાઓ explain what to put in place.

Can you use other people’s content, images and faces?

Only with the right licence or transfer. Copyright arises without registration; work made by freelancers and agencies stays with the maker unless transferred in writing (Article 2(3) of the Copyright Act, Auteurswet).

A common dispute: a company pays for a campaign, receives the files and finds years later that it has only a limited licence. Check what your agency contracts transfer and whether the licence covers the media, territory and period you use. Using a photo found online is rarely covered by the quotation exception; see ફોટોગ્રાફ્સ પર કોપીરાઇટ.

A recognisable person adds portrait rights. Under Article 21 Auteurswet, a person portrayed without having commissioned the portrait can oppose publication if they have a reasonable interest, which courts readily accept for commercial use. A signed release covering the same media, territory and period is the reliable answer; see પોટ્રેટ અધિકારો.

AI-generated output without human creative choices is generally not protected by copyright, so you may be unable to stop competitors using the same image. The terms of the tool may also limit commercial use.

Which advertising rules apply?

Towards other businesses, misleading advertising is unlawful under Article 6:194 BW, and the advertiser bears the burden of proving its claims are accurate (Article 6:195 BW). Towards consumers, the unfair commercial practices rules in Articles 6:193a to 6:193j BW apply, enforced by the ACM.

Alongside the law sits the self-regulatory Dutch Advertising Code (Nederlandse Reclame Code) with its complaints board, the Reclame Code Commissie. Its procedure is fast and its rulings are public. Our article on અન્યાયી વ્યાપારી પ્રથાઓ પરીક્ષણો દ્વારા કાર્ય કરે છે.

If you give access to consumer reviews, you must tell consumers whether and how you check that reviews come from people who actually used or bought the product (Article 6:193e BW). Fake reviews and undisclosed incentivised reviews are unfair practices. See ડચ કાયદા હેઠળ ઓનલાઇન સમીક્ષાઓ.

Paid influencer partnerships must be disclosed, the advertiser remains responsible for the content, and larger video channels may have to register with the Dutch Media Authority. See નેધરલેન્ડ્સમાં પ્રભાવક માર્કેટિંગ.

How does privacy law affect publishing and marketing?

Unsolicited commercial e-mails and messages require prior consent under Article 11.7 of the Telecommunications Act (Telecommunicatiewet), with a limited exception for existing customers. Cookies that are not strictly necessary require informed consent under Article 11.7a Telecommunicatiewet.

A cookie banner that makes refusing harder than accepting does not produce valid consent. The AP enforces this, and the DSA ban on manipulative interface design points the same way. Tracking pixels, audience measurement and sharing customer lists with ad platforms need a documented legal basis under the GDPR, a processor agreement where relevant and, for large-scale processing, a data protection impact assessment before launch.

When is a publication about your company unlawful?

A damaging publication is not unlawful merely because it hurts. The court weighs the seriousness of the accusation, its factual support, the way it is presented and the public interest against freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

An unsupported accusation presented as fact to a wide audience is where claims succeed, as a tort under Article 6:162 BW. Remedies are rectification, removal, damages and, if urgent, preliminary relief proceedings (kort geding). Requests to stop journalism before publication rarely succeed. For manipulated videos, criminal law may help; see ડચ કાયદા હેઠળ ડીપફેક.

What should you check as a platform or hosting service?

Your duties depend on your role under the DSA. Check:

• Whether your service is mere conduit, caching, hosting, an online platform or a marketplace.
• That you have a single point of contact and clear terms of service.
• That a notice-and-action procedure exists with named owners and response times.
• That restrictions on content come with a statement of reasons to the user.
• That your interface does not push users towards a particular choice.
• For marketplaces: that traders are verified before they can sell.

What should you check as an advertiser or publisher?

Most claims arise from missing rights or unsupported claims. Check:

• That you have a written transfer or a licence covering the media, territory and period you use.
• That you hold signed releases from recognisable people in your material.
• That factual claims in advertising can be proven (Article 6:195 BW).
• That influencer partnerships and incentivised reviews are disclosed.
• That consent for e-mail marketing and cookies has been validly obtained.
• That AI-generated content is disclosed where the AI Act requires it.

મીડિયા કાયદા સાથે અમે તમારા માટે શું કરી શકીએ છીએ?

અમારી મીડિયા કાયદા ટીમ advises companies on what they publish and how they publish it:

• We determine which role your services have and which rules follow from it.
• We draft or review your terms of service and notice-and-action procedure under the DSA.
• We draft agency, freelance and influencer contracts with proper rights transfers.
• We check campaign material for claims, licences, releases and disclosures before launch.
• We respond to the ACM, the AP or a complaint before the Reclame Code Commissie.
• We act for you in proceedings over an unlawful publication.

સારાંશ

• Your obligations depend on your role: publisher, hosting service, platform or media service.
• The ACM is the Dutch Digital Services Coordinator under the implementing act in force since 4 February 2025.
• Copyright in work by freelancers and agencies passes only by written transfer (Article 2(3) Auteurswet).
• Advertisers must be able to prove their claims (Article 6:195 BW); reviews and paid partnerships must be transparent.
• E-mail marketing and non-essential cookies require prior consent (Articles 11.7 and 11.7a Telecommunicatiewet).

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