Economic affairs minister Micky Adriaansens is proposing the self employed and company owners pay an annual fee to the Chamber of Trade (KvK) organisation, to compensate for changes to the way its register works. 

At the moment, anyone can access the register for a fee, and this has led some people to make money out of using the data by, for example, selling it to others for direct marketing. Adriaansens is now proposing scrapping the fee so that everyone can access the information on an equal footing.

She is also planning to make sure that phone numbers and email addresses are no longer accessible following concerns by privacy experts. In some cases, journalists and other self-employed people have been threatened online or physically after their private information was sold. 

The register aims to allow companies to check potential partners but “unfortunately, it is being abused,” Adriaansens said. “That is why I want to bring in these changes.” 

The minister hopes to bring in the changes before the end of 2025. 

In 2021, Dutch News revealed the KvK had generated revenue of more than €3.3 million in the previous six years when it bundled and sold details of companies, mostly to direct marketing firms.

The sales product was discontinued, after criticism from the Dutch Data Protection Authority.