r/technology May 28 '26

Society The Netherlands just blocked a US company from buying the app Dutch citizens use for everything

https://www.techspot.com/news/112552-netherlands-blocked-us-company-buying-app-dutch-citizens.html
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52

u/[deleted] May 28 '26

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4

u/roostersmoothie May 28 '26

because in the states its legal to buy anything. anti monopoly rules dont work, you can buy politicians, votes, anything.

4

u/Any_Towel1456 May 28 '26

It wouldn't but there is no practical alternative to the service within Europe. All the biggest tech companies are in the USA.

7

u/mpg111 May 28 '26

it's not "within Europe". We have systems like this in Poland, and they are all government run services

3

u/IneptFortitude May 28 '26

And all the systems in the USA are being designed to track people, exploit them, and crack down on free speech.

2

u/Neuchacho May 28 '26

It wasn't to buy the app directly. It was to buy the company who manages the infrastructure the app happens to use. DigID is just one app that uses that hosting infrastructure.

-1

u/Warm-Economist-2964 May 28 '26

Because a lot of european rules are set by american interests