Datavisie update: outcome final stakeholder sessions

What will the Business Register of the future look like? That was the main question in the 'Datavisie' (Data Vision) project of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, KVK, and other stakeholders. The final stakeholder sessions took place on 6 and 8 September 2022. Several strategies were discussed: methods to protect the privacy of registered companies, and how to ensure legal security and prevent fraud were the main focus points.

Broad support for privacy protection measures

A majority of those present supports the ideas to structurally improve the protection of the privacy of persons and companies in the Business Register. One of these ideas is the proposal to no longer make the email addresses and phone numbers of VvEs (owners' associations) public. A majority also supports the idea to combat unwanted commercial use of the Business Register data by imposing stricter terms and conditions on the use of those data. And there is broad support for the idea to make it possible for 'eenmanszaken' (sole proprietorships) to shield off their visiting address, provided they register a postal address in its place.

Legal security and fraud prevention

Besides the shielding off of privacy-sensitive data in the Business Register, several measures to bolster the legal security and prevent fraud were presented and discussed. A majority of the participants thinks that organisations that fulfil a legal or societal task should have access to non-public details. Which parties truly need access should be carefully reviewed. There is also much support for a stronger future role for KVK in checking registrations and filed documents. After all, this benefits the data quality.

Do you wish to get a quick insight into the outcome of the interactive stakeholder sessions? Then view the infographic (in Dutch) containing all the results. A full report of the sessions is also available in Dutch. 

About the Business Register Datavisie project

The Commercial Registers Act ensures that most of the details in the Business Register must be public. This enables entrepreneurs to see with whom they are doing business. At the same time, making data public and being transparent can affect the privacy and safety of persons. To find a way to satisfy these apparently conflicting interests, the Ministry of EZK and KVK have set up the 'Datavisie' project, in which they collaborate with other stakeholders. The last interactive stakeholder sessions took place in September 2022. The possible solutions discussed in these sessions were drafted based on the outcome of previous sessions. Read the report of previous sessions.