Netherlands blocks US takeover of DigiD host Solvinity
The Dutch government prohibited Kyndryl's takeover of Solvinity, a cloud company whose infrastructure helps run DigiD. Background and the motions of 2025.
On 25 May 2026 the Dutch State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate prohibited the planned takeover of the Dutch cloud company Solvinity by the US IT services group Kyndryl. The government informed the House of Representatives the next day.
Why it mattered
Solvinity provides infrastructure on which services of Logius, the government's digital services agency, run, including part of DigiD, the login most Dutch residents use for government services. Logius explained to parliament that a takeover would move ownership and ultimate control of the infrastructure supplier into US hands, even if the daily service did not change right away.
The takeover was notified to the Investment Screening Bureau (BTI) on 21 November 2025 under the Wet ongewenste zeggenschap telecommunicatie (Wozt). The BTI concluded that the takeover could pose a risk to the public interest and advised a full prohibition, and the State Secretary followed that advice. Decisions under this law are normally not made public; a complete prohibition is the exception.
Parliament had asked for less dependency
In March 2025 the House of Representatives adopted a series of motions on government cloud use, among them:
- stopping migrations of government ICT to cloud services of US tech companies, unless continuity of services to citizens is at risk (26643 nr. 1315);
- a tender for a government cloud under full Dutch control (26643 nr. 1316);
- a risk analysis and an exit strategy to Dutch or European providers for every cloud service bought from US tech companies (26643 nr. 1318).
What it means for public bodies
The case adds weight to what parliament asked in 2025: know who controls your providers and their parent companies, and keep a tested way out. Contracts that describe exit support, data export in open formats and notice of changes of control make that much easier.
Sources
- Tweede Kamer: Besluit investeringstoetsing Solvinity, Kamerstuk 26643 nr. 1514 (26 May 2026)
- Tweede Kamer: Logius, Gevolgen van de Solvinity-overname voor Logius-dienstverlening
- Motion Kathmann c.s., Kamerstuk 26643 nr. 1315 (stop migrations to US cloud services)
- Motion Kathmann, Kamerstuk 26643 nr. 1316 (tender for a government cloud under Dutch control)
- Motion Kathmann, Kamerstuk 26643 nr. 1318 (risk analysis and exit strategy)
- Tweede Kamer: votes on the motions on migrations of government ICT
For information only, not legal advice. Last updated 19 October 2026.
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