The Dutch Chamber of Commerce is to remove the phone numbers of the self-employed from its public registers from Wednesday, in an effort to stop them being harassed by cold-callers trying to sell goods and services.

The move, which was planned, is being implemented more quickly on the request of the economic affairs ministry, the KvK organisation said. “Many entrepreneurs have asked for this to be implemented, mainly because they are getting unwanted calls from commercial companies,” the agency said.

Cold calling has been officially banned since 2021 but is still a major issue, KvK management board chief Greet Prins said. “We want to combat this nuisance.”

Certain groups, such as banks and lawyers, will still have access to the details.

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.

In some cases, journalists and other self-employed people have also been threatened online or physically after their private information was obtained by third parties.