A majority of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, is in favor of a legislative amendment that would extend confidentiality to also apply to parliamentarians' digital communications, such as WhatsApp messages and emails. The government submitted the proposed amendment in 2014, and the Tweede Kamer debated it on Wednesday, NU.nl reports.
Feb 6 '17 08:14
One in 15 Dutch teens (6.4 percent) sent a sexual photo to someone else on social media at least once, according to a survey by Bureau Jeugd & Media among a thousand kids aged between 12 and 17 years, NOS reports.
Sexting, sharing sexually explicit photos via social media, is especially popular among 16 and 17 year olds, the survey found. In this age group 14.5 percent have sent a sexual photo at least once. 40 percent said that they've received requests for naked photos of themes elves. Teens send these photos to their friends, but often also to people they only know online.
Jan 11 '17 10:28
The police arrested seven men in December for extorting people with sex ads on WhatsApp, the police announced on Tuesday. THe suspects posted sex ads, to which their victims responded on the messaging app. But instead of making an appointment with a sex worker, the victims were informed that their families will be told about their activities if they did not pay an amount of money.
Dec 29 '16 11:50
A Dutch man arrested in Germany on the suspicion that he raped an asylum seeker in the shelter that he runs, has been released. A WhatsApp chat conversation suggests that the man and woman had a consensual and "intimate love relationship", a court in Arnsberg decided, ANP reports.
The charge against the man, Paul van M., was filed by a 22-year-old Syrian asylum seeker who lived in the shelter he runs in Germany. She told the authorities that she had been raped at least four times, became pregnant and had an abortion.
Nov 15 '16 11:50
Minister Edith Schippers of Public Health won the Big Brother Award for privacy violation, was announced at the award ceremony in Amsterdam on Monday. She is "proud" of the award, she said in a first reaction, Het Parool reports.
Nov 1 '16 09:57
Minister Edith Schippers of Public Health, head of intelligence service AIVD Rob Bertholee and chat-app WhatsApp are the three nominees for this year's Big Brother Awards. The Big Brother Award is annually awarded to the biggest privacy violator of the year by Bits of Freedom, NU.nl reports.
Sep 19 '16 09:40
Dutch intelligence service AIVD wants to restrict encryption on chat services like WhatsApp and Telegram as much as possible, head of the service Rob Bertholee said in an interview with the Volkskrant. According to him, being able to read suspected person's communication is essential for "protecting the legal order".
Aug 22 '16 09:57
The Netherlands' Public Prosecutor and intelligence service AIVD are having more and more trouble with message encryption on messaging services like WhatsApp, prosecutor Martijn Egberts said to broadcaster NOS. The encryption means that crime fighters face difficult challenges when they want to read a suspect's communication.
Jan 27 '16 15:45
The suspects who stormed the asylum center in Woerden in October last year, coordinated the attack using a WhatsApp group, the Public Prosecutor revealed in the court in Utrecht on Wednesday. Eighteen suspects are appearing in court, three at a time, on Wednesday and Thursday.
Jan 25 '16 15:00
The popularity of social media is still growing in the Netherlands, though Dutch users are making less and less use of Twitter. Young people in particular are using Twitter less, instead opting for Snap Chat and Instagram. Both these platform showed a big increase in Dutch users this year, according to an annual report by research form Newcom.
Dec 2 '15 15:35
The court in Amsterdam recently ruled that an employer can fire a worker through WhatsApp. A WhatsApp message is sufficient, the judge decided
Nov 20 '15 08:17
Seventeen percent of teenagers in the Netherlands think that they are addicted to social media. Almost half of the teens between the ages of 12 and 18 years indicate that social media has a negative effect on their concentration, sleep and school performance.
Nov 6 '15 12:27
WhatsApp may not be as safe to communicate on securely as people like to think, according to an employee of the Dutch intelligence service AIVD.
Oct 6 '15 14:21
During an erotic texting session with his girlfriend, a teacher at the St. Ursula School in Horn, Limburg, accidentally send a picture of his penis to a group of students in one of his classes. An investigation made by the Foundation for Education in Middle-Limburg (SOML) determined that it was "a very stupid mistake," and that the sexting incident was done without malicious intent.
Jul 21 '15 11:56
Supermarket chains Albert Heijn and Bijenkorf are warning customers of fake win promotions circulating through emails, Facebook, SMS messages and WhatsApp.
Jul 15 '15 11:14
One in five Dutch smartphone users make calls using message apps like Skype, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Five percent often call from so-called instant messaging apps and another 16 percent do so every now and then.
Jul 8 '15 13:32
Doctors in many hospitals send each other information about patients via WhatsApp, NRC Q reports based on conversations with doctors from many disciplines and different hospitals. The doctors use the messaging app to get advice on acute diagnoses from a colleague, to get treatment advice or to send photos of disorders.
May 8 '15 15:23
The trucker from Gelderse Huissen who caused a fatal accident in 2013 was given a sentence of 240 hours community service on Thursday. Investigations proved that the 27-year-old D. had been sending WhatsApp messages while driving.
Mar 31 '15 14:29
Online retailer has started a test in which three style experts give style advice to clients via WhatsApp for free. According to the company, this is the first time something like this is done in the Netherlands and in the online retail market.
Feb 26 '15 11:10
A new service from Maxima Medical Center (MMC) makes it possible for patients and visitors to ask questions to their doctors on WhatsApp, the hospital announced yesterday.
Feb 3 '15 09:51
The way in which kids bully each other is getting fiercer, De Kindertelefoon (Childline) concludes from 450 thousand contacts they annually have with children, parents and teachers.
Sep 16 '14 10:24
After WhatsApp CEO Jan Kuom hinted at the new feature in February, it seems that voice calling will indeed be launched with an upcoming update of the popular messaging service, after NDTV Gadgets reports spotting a mention of the feature in WhatsApp's iPhone app.
Aug 25 '14 09:33
Messaging service WhatsApp is doing well, with 600 million people worldwide using the app to send messages more than once a month, according to director Jan Koum, the NOS reports.
Mar 18 '14 07:17
WhatsApp CEO, Jan Koum, is "setting the record straight" in a blog post about privacy concerns raised by the app's customers after the Facebook deal.
