Winners Dutch Privacy Awards 2026 announced!

The Dutch Privacy Awards are presented annually by Privacy First on the European Privacy Day. 

WINNER: UMC Utrecht & Roseman Labs - NSK data workshop

Privacy-by-design collaboration tool for early detection of child abuse with advanced cryptography; scalable, secure and socially highly relevant.

The NSK (National Child Abuse Reporting Tool) data workshop offers a privacy by design solution to an urgent social challenge: the early detection of child abuse. By processing sensitive patient data exclusively in encrypted form using advanced cryptographic techniques, the data workshop enables hospitals to learn together and improve the quality of care without infringing on the privacy of children and families. The solution strengthens confidence in data-driven healthcare improvement by focusing on purpose limitation, consent and complete control for participating institutions.

In addition, the NSK data workshop stands out for its innovative, scalable and sustainable character. The technology of Roseman Labs enables in-depth analyses without access to traceable data and integrates seamlessly with existing research environments such as the Digital Research Environment (DRE). This allows healthcare institutions to collaborate independently and set up comparable data workshops within a few months. The application convincingly demonstrates that privacy protection and social impact can reinforce each other and serves as an inspiring example for secure and responsible data exchange within the future European Health Data Space.

The jury appreciated the combination of technical innovation, social relevance, practical applicability and exemplary value for other sectors. The NSK data workshop meets all the essential criteria: societal urgency, technical excellence, legal soundness, practical implementability and future-proof exemplary value.

The NSK data workshop convincingly demonstrates that privacy-friendly innovation in healthcare is not only possible but can also be transformative, earning it a Dutch Privacy Award.

WINNER: Ride Registration Systems Quality Mark Foundation - Ride Registration Systems Quality Mark 

Independent certification ensuring privacy of business drivers via, among other things, a “digital safe” for private journeys.

The Quality Mark for Journey Recording Systems offers business drivers (approx. 250,000 out of a total of 1.12 million) independent and reliable trip records for the 500km statement. The foundation certifies approx. 80% of all suppliers on the market that meet the requirements of the tax authorities and guarantee privacy protection. Private journey data can only be viewed by the employee himself via a “digital safe”, which means that employers cannot view private journeys made with a business car.

The Quality Mark for Ride Registration Systems illustrates that privacy protection is not only a legal duty, but also a quality feature that strengthens trust and innovation. The jury of the Dutch Privacy Awards praises the structural and proven contribution of this initiative to the protection of personal data in the mobility chain and sees in this hallmark a guiding example for privacy assurance in data-rich work environments.

The jury appreciated that the label makes a concrete and demonstrable difference in a context where privacy, surveillance and business interests are often in tension. The solution addresses a fundamental vulnerability: the possibility of employers gaining insight into employees' private journeys via business vehicles. The methodology used by the hallmark - where private journeys are only visible to the employee himself via a so-called digital safe - offers a technically and organisationally elegant balance between control and autonomy. The jury therefore rewards Stichting Keurmerk Ritregistratiesystemen with a Privacy Award.

WINNER: TNO, NFI & SURF - GPT-NL

First Dutch LLM developed fully GDPR-compliant, with transparent training data, strong privacy assurance and an innovative licensing model; a blueprint for sovereign and responsible AI in Europe.

GPT-EN is the first Dutch Large Language Model (LLM), developed with government funding by TNO in collaboration with the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) and SURF. The model is trained on original, high-quality Dutch texts from government bodies, libraries and publishers, rather than on data randomly scraped from the internet. GPT-NL is the first LLM worldwide that demonstrably complies with the GDPR through radical privacy by designAll personal data relating to non-public individuals is systematically removed or anonymised in advance. In addition, GPT-NL is fully transparent (as the only provider worldwide) about training sources, respects copyrights, and has safeguards in place for its output to ensure privacy rights. With its unique licensing model, which fairly compensates content providers, GPT-NL is not only a figurehead for privacy by design but also for respectful and legally correct handling of copyrights and the intellectual property of content providers. The model is suitable for trust-critical applications in the public sector, education and healthcare sectors.

Positioning itself at the intersection of privacy, technology and sovereignty, GPT-NL marks a milestone in the development of responsible artificial intelligence in the Netherlands and Europe. GPT-NL demonstrates that responsible, AVG-compliant, copyright-correct and transparent LLM development is indeed possible. The jury of the Dutch Privacy Awards considers the project a guiding example of how data ethics, innovation and public values can be brought together in the practice of AI development. The jury therefore rewards GPT-NL with a Privacy Award.

ADVERTISEMENT: national innovation centre privacy-enhancing technologies (NICPET)

The national innovation centre privacy-enhancing technologies (NICPET) caught the jury's eye because it clearly contributes to the development of privacy and data protection in the Netherlands on several fronts.

NICPET performs a special bridging function by connecting public applicators and private participants in one shared community of practice around privacy and data protection.

Public applicators bring the perspective of public values, legitimacy, democratic accountability and enforceability. They know where regulations chafe in practice and what risks citizens actually experience.

Private participants bring innovation power, technical expertise and product or service knowledge, ensuring that solutions do not remain abstract but connect to concrete systems, platforms and data flows.

NICPET makes an impact by structurally bringing these perspectives together in a safe working platform, where collective learning takes place. With this, the emergence of de facto practice standards encouraged.

This enhances interoperability, prevents fragmentation and ensures that solutions are recognisable and consistent for citizens, regardless of which public agency or private provider is involved.

It is precisely this role as a neutral, public meeting place where interests, knowledge and responsibilities of public and private parties come together on an equal footing that makes NICPET distinctive and particularly relevant for the further professionalisation of privacy in the Netherlands. NICPET therefore deserves a Dutch Privacy Award (Aanmoedigingsprijs).

Nominees

From the various entries, the independent expert jury had the following nominees selected:  

• Publiosa - Registervanverwerkings.nl
• LROI & Bluegen.ai - Synthetic data
• Stimulansz - Privacy Quartet
• UMC Utrecht & Roseman Labs - NSK data workshop
• Ride Registration Systems Quality Mark Foundation - Ride Registration Systems Quality Mark
• TNO, NFI & SURF - GPT-NL

During the National Privacy Conference, all nominees presented themselves to the jury and the audience through video-pitches. The Dutch Privacy Awards were then presented by the chairman of the jury. Click HERE for the entire jury report (pdf) with participation criteria and explanation of all winners and nominees.

National Privacy Conference

The National Privacy Conference is an initiative of ECP and Privacy First. This conference annually brings together Dutch business, government and science to jointly build a privacy-friendly society.

Speakers at the National Privacy Conference 2026 were successively:

• Marjolijn Bonthuis (programme director Digital Security & Trust, ECP)
• Bart Schellekens (National Organisation for Development, Digitisation and Innovation, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations)
• Sylvia Huydecoper (director Platform Zelfstandige Ondernemers and independent ICT and privacy lawyer)
• Monique Verdier (vice-president, Personal Data Authority)
• Gerrit-Jan Zwenne (professor Leiden University, Open University and Pels Rijcken)
• Marianne van den Anker (Ombudswoman Rotterdam-Rijnmond)
• Wilmar Hendriks (Privacy Control, Coordinating Data Protection Officer, Care and Safety House Rotterdam-Rijnmond)
• Marlon Domingus (jury chairman Dutch Privacy Awards).

Chairman of the day was presenter Tom Jessen. Location of the conference was Nieuwspoort in The Hague.

Jury Dutch Privacy Awards

The Awards jury consists of independent privacy experts from various sectors, in their personal capacity:

• Marlon Domingus  
  Data protection officer, Erasmus University Rotterdam
  (jury chairperson)
• Walter van Wijk
  Community manager privacy, Centre for Information Security and Privacy Protection (CIP)
• Koen Versmissen
  Owner Expertise Centre for Data Ethics
• Jaap-Henk Hoepman
  Associate Professor of Computer Science, Radboud University Nijmegen
• Lora Mourcous 
  Lawyer, Samsung Electronics Benelux
• Sulaika Duijsings-Mahangi 
  Chief Privacy Officer, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management
• Sah Farooq
  Chief Privacy Officer & Manager of the Privacy Expertise Centre, Municipality of The Hague
• Jan Rinia
  Head of Data Protection and Privacy Department, Ministry of Justice and Security.

To ensure that the election of the Awards is conducted objectively, the jury is not allowed to judge an entry from its own organisation or an organisation in which a jury member has an interest.

Privacy First Foundation organises the Dutch Privacy Awards in association with ECP | Platform for the Information Society, with support from NordVPN. Media partner is PONT Data & Privacy. Preregistrations for the Dutch Privacy Awards 2027 are already welcome!

Would you also like to become a sponsor of the Dutch Privacy Awards? Then please contact Privacy First!