Dutch cabinet unveils draft bill expanding intelligence powers against foreign adversaries
The Dutch government has introduced legislation allowing intelligence agencies to hack and monitor designated foreign adversaries for up to a year without prior judicial approval.
Cabinet introduces new intelligence legislation
On 28 August 2026, the Dutch cabinet approved a new draft intelligence bill and opened it for public online consultation. Presented jointly by Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz and Interior Minister Pieter Heerma, the legislation seeks to replace the 2017 Intelligence and Security Services Act and temporary measures introduced in 2024. The government stated that updated legal tools are required to counter persistent espionage and cyber operations conducted by foreign states, specifically naming Russia, China, and Iran, as well as terrorist groups such as ISIS. Ministers noted that foreign adversaries have deployed artificial intelligence and targeted Dutch infrastructure, pointing to cyber intrusions against the Ministry of Defense and the national police.
Elimination of prior operational approval
The core mechanism of the bill reduces the requirement for the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) and the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) to obtain prior approval before conducting individual surveillance operations. Once an entity or foreign agency is officially designated as an evident opponent, intelligence officers may wiretap, hack, or conduct sabotage against affiliated targets for a period of up to one year without separate advance warrants. The government argues that previous requirements allowed malicious actors to switch server infrastructure before authorizations could be processed.
The services receive more powers to respond faster and in a more targeted manner to evident opponents. But the supervisor continues to monitor.
Independent review of operations against evident opponents will shift to retrospective and ongoing evaluations, though prior authorization will still be mandatory for bulk data interception. Under the draft law, two existing regulatory bodies will merge into a single entity, the College of Assessment and Oversight (CTT), which will operate with fewer members while providing intelligence agencies with expanded rights to appeal regulatory decisions.
- Intelligence and Security Services Act enters into force following public referendum
- Temporary legislation enacted to expand powers for emerging cyber and geopolitical threats
- Cabinet approves draft national security intelligence bill and opens online public consultation
Compulsory data surrender and institutional cooperation
The draft law expands the authority of the intelligence services to demand data from both public and private organizations. Companies operating online platforms, financial institutions, and universities will be legally required to hand over requested personal information, with non-compliance carrying potential prison sentences for corporate officers, civil servants, and system administrators. Government officials stated that this statutory basis will permit targeted background checks, contrasting with a previous plan by the prior cabinet to screen 8,000 foreign researchers and students at Dutch universities that proved unworkable under the old framework.
What distinguishes us from enemies is that we are a democracy and have a rule of law and build in safeguards. That remains.
In addition to external data demands, the law establishes mechanisms for closer operational coordination between intelligence agencies and domestic entities, including the national police, the armed forces, the Tax Administration, and the Financial Intelligence Unit Netherlands.
Privacy concerns and emergency powers
Civil rights advocates and former oversight officials have voiced concern regarding the reduction of prior legal controls and the expanded collection of citizen data. The digital rights foundation Bits of Freedom cited past regulatory reports finding deficiencies in how the AIVD and MIVD manage large datasets. Former intelligence employee and regulatory official Bert Hubert questioned the necessity of dismantling prior review, stating that emergency procedures already allow for rapid action under existing rules.
We see a trend since the 2017 law that the services collect data on an increasingly large scale and that oversight decreases.
The legislation also incorporates state emergency law provisions, granting intelligence agencies wide operational freedom without routine statutory constraints during extraordinary events, such as large-scale armed conflicts, subject to parliamentary approval. Public feedback on the draft proposal is being collected through the national internet consultation platform.
