Dutch government tests European messaging app to reduce reliance on WhatsApp

Friday, 20 March 2026 – 17:50 Share this article: State Secretary Willemijn Aerdts, responsible for Digital Economy and Sovereignty for D66, warns that reliance on foreign messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal poses a risk to the government. Her ministry has launched a pilot project with a European alternative as a first step, with the long-term goal of adopting a messaging platform fully controlled by the Dutch government. Throughout the pilot phase, the state secretary and a select group of officials will use the alternative messaging platform to communicate. Her spokesperson declined to disclose which European app is involved, noting that the project is still in its infancy. “At present, much of our communication relies on platforms beyond our control. In a world where technology is more and more used as an instrument of power, that poses a risk,” the minister said. Reports this week revealed that Belgian civil servants will be banned from using WhatsApp and Messenger as of next week. De Standaard reports they are expected to transition to the government-developed app Beam, which was already adopted last week by the country’s military and intelligence agencies. While the spokesperson remains tight-lipped, ICT sector sources have suggested in the
Read More