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The Media Act (2008)concerns the organisational structure, funding principles and operational scope of the Dutch public broadcasting system, which is composed of the NPO (Nederlandse Publieke Omroep) as an umbrella organisation with a coordinating task, and several public broadcasters who produce the content. The act regulates how the budget for the public broadcasting task is provided and allocated, but is also concerns the basic requirements for commercial broadcasters and obligations for providers of television and radio packages (like cable operators). The commercial broadcasters, for example, are not allowed to broadcast sponsored news and at least 40 percent of the programmes... read more →

In January 2015, a new Libraries Act was implemented (Wet stelsel openbare bibliotheken). This new act defines the five core functions of public libraries as: to promote reading and a taste for literature; facilitate learning; make knowledge and information available; promote art and culture; and organise social encounters and debate. The act also addresses the digitisation of the sector, which started in the late 1990s. To streamline and co-ordinate this process, the Dutch public libraries set up the foundation Bibliotheek.nl (2009). They build a digital infrastructure in order to create one Dutch national digital library by connecting all (digital systems... read more →

There is a percentage scheme for visual arts (Percentageregeling voor beeldende kunst) in or near government buildings that are newly constructed, renovated or purchased by the Central Government Real Estate Agency, which is a division within the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations. The scheme is applied if the total construction costs of a building exceed EUR 1 million. Between EUR 1 and 7 million, the budget for art is 2 percent of the total building costs; between EUR 7 and 10 million, the budget for art is 1 percent of the total building costs plus EUR 70 000; and... read more →

To safeguard the rights of performing artists, the Neighbouring Rights Act came into force in 1993. Neighbouring rights are created automatically and are valid for 70 years (see chapter 4.1.6). General legislation on the (governmental funding of) performing arts and festivals is included in the Cultural Policy Act (see chapter 4.2.1).         

Several laws on cultural heritage exist. The most important ones are the following: Former Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Jet Bussemaker, introduced an integral Heritage Act, protecting the national museum objects, museums, monuments and archaeology on land and underwater. The act was installed on July 1st, 2016 and replaced six laws and regulations in the field of cultural heritage, including the Monuments and Historic Buildings Act (1988) and the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (1984). The Heritage Act regulates matters for both movable and immovable heritage and is an integral part of the Environment Act. Eight issues are addressed: management... read more →

The Cultural Policy Act (Wet op het specifiek cultuurbeleid, 1993) was considered a milestone in the legal basis of Dutch cultural policy. It defined and redefined a number of aspects of cultural policy. This act was needed to ratify specific payments by the government to local authorities and national public cultural funds. It also regulates specific policy and financial relations with the provinces and municipalities (see chapter 1.2). The Cultural Policy Act specifies the responsibilities for the Minister for Culture: providing the conditions for the preservation, development and social and geographic distribution of cultural expressions of national significance. “In this,... read more →

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Dutch and Frisian (spoken mostly in the province Friesland) are the official languages in the Netherlands. For the three special municipalities Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, English and Papiamento are official languages as well. The spelling of the Dutch language is laid down in the Spelling Act (Spellingwet).                  In 2010, the central government handed in a legislative proposal to include the Dutch language in the constitution. As a result of internationalisation and the diversity of the population, other languages are gaining ground, especially English. The purpose of the proposed amendment to the constitution is to guarantee that the Dutch... read more →

The Data Registration Act (Wet Persoonsregistraties) was approved in 1989 and became the first act that was concerned with data protection. Dutch institutions or businesses needed the permission of their clients to make use of the clients’ personal data for other purposes. A renewed act, the Personal Data Protection Act (Wet Bescherming Persoonsgegevens Wbp), based on the European Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC), was developed in 2000 and came into force in 2001. This act emphasised the protection of personal data during information processes as a consequence of technological developments. The Data Protection Authority arranges supervision and compliance with both acts.     ... read more →

In the Netherlands, the Copyright Act 1912 and the Neighbouring Rights Act 1993 protect literary, scientific or artistic works. Because the European Directive 2006/116/EC on the term of protection of copyright and related rights was replaced by the European Directive 2011/77/EU in 2011, both Dutch acts were amended in 2013. In line with this directive, copyright accrues to the creator of a work until 70 years after the creator’s death while neighbouring rights are in place for 70 years from the moment a work is introduced. Previously, the Copyright Act, the Neighbouring Rights Act and the Database Act 1999 (which... read more →