Maxime Verhagen, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation has presented a Bill to the Dutch House of Representatives that adapts the current Telecommunications Act to the European Civil Rights Directive. Key elements of the Bill include a transparency duty for ISPs, data leaks and cookies.

The Bill’s transparency duty requires that ISPs are obliged to disclose to consumers how they deal with certain services or traffic priority, in short to be clear about their network management policy. The bill also provides for an opportunity for the minister to demands certain measures from ISP’s and to ensure access to certain internet services, when the openness and accessibility of the internet are in jeopardy.

The Bill also includes a duty to report data leaks. This requires a person or organization to report a security breach of a network or service if it affects the protection of personal data. Also included is a duty to provide internet with users information and to ask permission before placing a cookie on their computer.

Source: Dutch National Government (Rijksoverheid)