The Dutch government maintains that an American takeover of Solvinity could lead to a “threat to the public interest” and therefore must be prohibited.

In November 2025, Kyndryl announced its interest in acquiring Solvinity, a provider of managed cloud platforms and services in the Netherlands, including DigiD.

DigiD is an identity management platform used to verify Dutch citizens' identities. The system is used when residents want to handle their affairs via the internet with (local) government bodies, tax authorities, educational institutions, healthcare providers, or pension funds.

However, DigiD runs on Solvinity servers. Privacy experts and politicians raised concerns that both personal and sensitive data of over 16 million DigiD users could fall into the hands of American authorities. On top of that, the US government could potentially disable services in the Netherlands, which could severely cripple society.

The Dutch government was asked to stop the acquisition of Solvinity. However, Minister for Kingdom Relations and Effective Government Eric van der Burg said he had already approved extending the contract with Solvinity and that it was beyond his authority to reverse the agreement.

A handful of citizens filed summary proceedings against the government, but the District Court of The Hague dismissed the claims.

Then, the Investment Assessment Office (BTI) looked into the matter to see whether the proposed takeover would pose a risk to the Netherlands’ national security. The agency concluded that the acquisition of Solvinity may pose a risk to the public interest and advised Minister for the Digital Economy and Sovereignty Willemijn Aerdts to impose a complete ban on the acquisition.

In response, Kyndryl said it was “extremely disappointed” with the government’s decision and said it would file an appeal.

In a letter addressed to the House of Representatives, Minister Aerdts says she has reconsidered Kyndryl’s objections, but that her decision to prohibit the takeover remains intact.

“I concluded once again that the proposed acquisition could pose a threat to the public interest and that a prohibition is necessary to protect that public interest,” the Minister wrote.

In response, Kyndryl says it remains disappointed by the outcome of the assessment of the proposed acquisition.

“Despite all our best efforts, this second decision by the State Secretary for the Digital Economy and Sovereignty leaves no room for debate – this transaction is prohibited by law and cannot be completed,” the company says in a press release.

Kyndryl states that it will respect the outcome and is asking Solvinity and its shareholders to focus on its business operations.