Dutch citizens are suing to stop the US from taking over their national ID system

Three citizens have filed summary proceedings against their government to block a US company, Kyndryl, from buying Solvinity. The purchase would greenlight the American company’s control over DigiD – the Netherlands' national digital identity system used by over 16 million people.

In November 2025, American investor Kyndryl announced its interest in acquiring Solvinity, the hosting company for DigiD, an application that allows Dutch authorities to verify someone’s identity online.

This proposed acquisition has raised concerns with privacy experts and politicians. Theoretically, this would mean that the US government is allowed access to the personal data of over 16 million DigiD users. It could also serve as a potential kill switch to disable communication with organizations like healthcare institutions, pension funds, the unemployment agency, and the tax authorities.

Therefore, the House of Representatives recently asked the government to put a stop to the acquisition of Solvinity by Kyndryl. Last week, Eric van der Burg, Minister for Kingdom Relations and Effective Government, said that he had already approved extending the contract with Solvinity at the end of March.

He claims that it’s impossible to switch to another provider before August 2026 without incurring significant risks.

“Such a process is lengthy and requires a handover as well as careful preparation and execution,” Van der Burg stated.

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According to Dutch news outlet De Telegraaf, the plaintiffs are demanding that the contract with Solvinity will not be renewed, or at least be postponed until the House of Representatives has had the opportunity to look for a Dutch buyer.

This is the third lawsuit filed against the Dutch government for halting the acquisition of Solvinity.

First, there was Pieter van Oordt, the highest privacy officer (CPO) at Logius, the government agency in charge of managing DigiD. He lodged a lawsuit against the state to keep DigiD out of American hands. To fund his anticipated legal costs, he launched a crowdfunding campaign.

A group of journalists and tech experts, united in a foundation called The Firewall, also launched a lawsuit against the government. They’ve asked Minister Van der Burg to appoint them as stakeholders before approving the acquisition. In short, the experts want to have a say in the acquisition of Solvinity.

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