According to research done by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Netherlands is ranked with Switzerland in having the most broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants,[1] has no bandwidth caps,[2] and has the most homes passed in Europe in terms of connection speeds of 50 Mbit/s and higher.
[5] According to the DESI 2022 report, the Netherlands ranks fourth in the EU for digital public services.
[5] These achievements align with the country's strategic initiatives for digitalization, as outlined in the 2020 NL Digibeter Agenda and the I-Strategy for 2021–2025.
[citation needed] In 2008 Ernst Hirsch Ballin, then Minister of Justice, proposed a plan to regulate the blocking of websites known to contain child pornography.
This plan never gained traction and was only backed by UPC and an orthodox Protestant provider of filtered internet services, Kliksafe.
[13] The House of Representatives reaffirmed this by voting against the filter later that year, effectively killing any plans for government censorship.
[14] In January 2012, the internet providers Ziggo and XS4ALL were required by a court order in a case brought by the Bescherming Rechten Entertainment Industrie Nederland (BREIN) to block the website of The Pirate Bay due to copyright infringement.
[16] The Pirate Bay called BREIN a corrupt organization,[17] while the government is mostly concerned about freedom of speech and privacy.
[19] However, in January 2014, a court overturned the initial verdict and ruled that Ziggo and XS4ALL no longer have to block The Pirate Bay.
[20] BREIN has since moved to an appeal with the Hoge Raad, the highest court in the Netherlands, arguing that the ruling is in violation of European law.
One of the main internet providers, Ziggo, uses a DNS block to prevent users from accessing the sites.