Archived version

A month or so ago, the Netherlands reportedly blocked a US company from buying the cloud provider that runs Dutch digital identity (there is a post about it in this community here).

The more recent news is that the Chief Privacy Officer of the Dutch government, who was behind this initiative, is about to lose his job.

…

For more than four months, Pieter van Oordt warned internally about the risks of the takeover. When these warnings were ignored, he brought the issue to the media, the Dutch Parliament, and the Cabinet. He showed that Parliament had received incomplete and misleading information and revealed that vulnerabilities in digital infrastructure had been shared with a U.S. company. His actions forced the Ministry of Economic Affairs to block the takeover.

Instead of protection, Van Oordt faced retaliation. He was excluded from meetings, his salary increase was blocked, and his request for protection under the European Whistleblower Directive was rejected, despite an expert report confirming that he should have been protected. He has been suspended, and his dismissal is mentioned in a written notice from the Attorney General on 22 May 2026.

The dismissal has not yet been implemented.

…

Someone started a petition (not me), I post this here as you may want to sign it (and maybe spread the word).

The petition calls on the European Parliament and the European Commission to act:

• Protect Pieter van Oordt from an unlawful dismissal.
• Ensure he can continue his work safely within the public sector.
• Place digital sovereignty of vital infrastructure high on the European agenda.
• Hold the Dutch government and the responsible ministries accountable.

[To read the English version of the linked text, you need to scroll down. It’s below the Dutch version.]