Microsoft and Meta have provided a US senate committee with names of Dutch civil servants and academics working on European tech regulation, according to Dutch magazine Vrij Nederland. The committee is investigating "tech censorship" or "jawboning" practices. Dutch officials warn this could expose regulators to travel bans or sanctions.

Digital economy minister Willemijn Aerdts called the disclosure "extremely worrying," noting that policy discussions should happen directly with governments, not through back channels targeting civil servants. The cabinet has raised the issue with the US ambassador to the Netherlands.

The named officials include staff from the competition authority ACM, privacy watchdog AP, and disinformation researcher Claes de Vreese. Junior economic affairs minister Eric van der Burg is assessing what documents were shared and their public availability.

This controversy intersects with broader concerns about Dutch government cloud dependencies. The Dutch tax office is migrating to Microsoft systems, while Solvinity, a major government cloud provider, faces a potential US acquisition. Under the US Cloud Act, American companies must hand over stored data regardless of location, raising questions about data sovereignty for critical government infrastructure.