Digital Dilemmas: Analyzing the Dutch Coalition Agreement's Tech Policies

The Dutch coalition agreement contains a wealth of digital policy proposals that reveal both ambition and contradiction. While the document draws heavily from previous work like "Wolken aan de horizon" and "Ons Digitaal Fundament," it presents a complex picture of where the Netherlands wants to go digitally - and where it might stumble along the way.

The AI Obsession Problem

The agreement shows an "unprecedented and unfounded enthusiasm" for artificial intelligence. The coalition wants to build an AI factory in Northern Netherlands, accelerate procedures for digital infrastructure, and transform the country from a "pilot nation" to a "scaling nation" for key technologies like AI.

This enthusiasm appears disconnected from practical realities. The Netherlands has limited space and extremely expensive electricity - arguably the worst location globally for energy-intensive AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, the same computing power can be rented from American providers for a fraction of the cost.

The AI Delta Plan, which the agreement embraces, is criticized as more wishlist than actual strategy. Experts point out it primarily benefits the tech industry rather than citizens, and attempts to copy Silicon Valley models without adapting them to European contexts.

The Centralization Revolution

One of the most significant shifts in the agreement is the proposed centralization of government IT. The Ministry of the Interior will gain "throughput power" to standardize and centralize digital procurement across all government levels, from ministries to municipalities.

This represents a fundamental change from the current system where each government entity chooses its own technology independently. The constitutional article 44 that currently protects this autonomy will be overridden.

However, this centralization faces enormous challenges. Government IT is currently "marinated" in American technology and labor backgrounds. Consultants, big four firms, and integrators all come from this ecosystem. Breaking free from "big tech" dependency while operating within this environment presents a massive cultural and technical challenge.

Digital Autonomy vs. Reality

The agreement strongly emphasizes digital autonomy and European digital infrastructure. It calls for national stress tests to understand dependencies on American cloud providers and wants to move away from US cloud services for crucial systems like DigiD.

Yet the practical implementation remains unclear. The long-promised "Overheidsbrede Cloudbeleid" (government-wide cloud policy) is notably absent from the agreement. Without concrete alternatives to American cloud services, the rhetoric of digital autonomy rings hollow.

The agreement does propose giving the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) new tools like the "call-in authority" and "new competition tool" to shake up the European cloud market. These could potentially force interoperability with dominant platforms like Google and Microsoft.

Cybersecurity Ambitions

There's strong language about improving cybersecurity with central "direction" (regie), more cyber and vice researchers at police stations, and "active cyber defense measures." However, "direction" is a weaker concept than "control" or "steering" - it allows for plausible deniability if things go wrong.

The agreement also calls for better information sharing between intelligence services (AIVD/MIVD) and private parties, which would require careful legal framework development to avoid compromising security.

The Talent Problem

While the agreement mentions introducing competitive salary paths for IT specialists and valuing technical expertise more highly, it fundamentally misunderstands the problem. The issue isn't just about salaries - it's about appreciation and career development.

The proposed reduction of the "top income norm" from 15.4% to 10% of personnel expenses could actually harm efforts to attract top tech talent, as the norm applies to salaries over €262,000 - far above what even the best government tech specialists earn.

Missing Elements

Several crucial topics are absent from the agreement:

• No mention of the earlier Dutch Digitalization Strategy (NDS) or its promised government-wide cloud policy
• No specific budget allocated for digital improvements, despite massive cuts to the civil service
• No clear plan for ensuring sufficient power for government data centers (the ACM currently prevents government DCs from getting priority access to electricity)

Social Media and Content Moderation

The agreement proposes a European minimum age of 15 for social media with "privacy-friendly" age verification. However, this requires everyone to prove they're not underage - a significant privacy concern.

It also wants to ban "addictive, polarizing, and anti-democratic algorithms" and require removal of "criminal content" within one hour of authority orders. The vagueness of "criminal content" and the practical challenges of enforcing this on non-European platforms present significant issues.

The Way Forward

The coalition agreement reveals a government that understands the problems of digital dependency but struggles with solutions. The ambition to centralize IT governance, achieve digital autonomy, and embrace AI innovation is clear. But the practical path forward - dealing with existing dependencies, building European alternatives, and ensuring adequate resources - remains murky.

The real test will be whether the government can move beyond warm words to concrete action, particularly in breaking free from American tech dominance while building genuine European alternatives. Without addressing the fundamental issues of power supply, talent attraction, and existing technological lock-in, the ambitious digital agenda risks becoming another set of unfulfilled promises.