The Dutch government blocks a planned acquisition by U.S.-based Kyndryl of Solvinity, a Dutch cloud provider that runs the platform behind DigiD, the Netherlands’ digital identity system. DigiD is used by people to authenticate online for services such as booking medical appointments and interacting with public services, including housing-related transactions. Dutch officials say the decision follows advice from the national investment screening authority and is made under the country’s independent framework for evaluating foreign takeovers to protect the public interest. In related statements, the U.S. Embassy in The Hague says Washington is “disappointed” by the Dutch decision regarding the Kyndryl–Solvinity deal. Public debate and protests in the Netherlands highlight concerns that placing responsibility for DigiD-related systems under foreign—particularly U.S.—control could create national security or data-access risks, including the possibility that authorities could seek access. Kyndryl also reacts by saying it is extremely disappointed, arguing that the transaction would benefit Solvinity’s customers and Dutch users. The government’s decision results in a prohibition of the acquisition.
Netherlands blocks Kyndryl’s planned acquisition of Solvinity cloud provider
The Dutch government blocks a planned acquisition by U.S.-based Kyndryl of Solvinity, a Dutch cloud provider that runs the platform behind DigiD, the Netherlands’ digital identity system. DigiD is use...
- The Netherlands blocks Kyndryl’s planned acquisition of Solvinity, a Dutch cloud provider.
- Solvinity runs the platform that supports DigiD, the system used for online identity authentication.
- Dutch officials cite national security and public-interest concerns as the basis for the investment screening decision.
- The U.S. Embassy in The Hague says it is “disappointed” by the Dutch decision.
- Kyndryl says it is “extremely disappointed,” while the U.S. company and the Netherlands’ screenings process reference differing views on the deal’s benefits and risks.
The U.S. said Wednesday that it was “disappointed” in a decision by the Dutch government to block New York-based Kyndryl’s planned acquisition of a cloud services provider over concerns about national security. “We were disappointed by the Dutch government’s decision regarding the Kyndryl-Solvinity deal,” the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands, said in a statement....
2 months ago"Following months of public debate and protests against American IT giant Kyndryl's proposed acquisition of Solvinity, a Dutch cloud provider that hosts the Netherlands' online identity platform, the Dutch government has decided to block the acquisition," writes longtime Slashdot reader rastakid. "The deal triggered fears that it would mean that 'DigiD' data would fall under foreign control, and could be demanded by U.S. authorities." Politico reports: In a letter to the national parliament published on Tuesday, State Secretary for Digital Economy Willemijn Aerdts said the national authority charged with screening investments had advised the government to block the acquisition. The purchase was seen as posing "a possible risk to the public interest." The government on Monday decided to adopt the advice and block the acquisition, Aerdts said. "The Netherlands attaches great value to the presence of foreign, especially U.S.-based tech companies, and their added value to the Dutch economy and digital infrastructure, but it maintains, at the same time, an independent investment screening framework aimed at protecting the public interest and which applies equally to all investors, independent of their country of origin," the letter read. Kyndryl said in a statement it was "extremely disappointed" about the decision. "The politicization of this process has overshadowed the clear and important benefits this transaction would have brought to Solvinity's customers and Dutch citizens." Further reading: Challenges Face European Governments Pursuing 'Digital Sovereignty' Read more of this story at Slashdot.
3 months agoThe Dutch government has imposed a “complete prohibition” on the acquisition of Solvinity, a Dutch cloud provider, by Kyndryl, the American IT infrastructure company spun out of IBM in 2021. The deal, valued at roughly €100 million, would have given a US-headquartered firm control over the platform that runs DigiD, the digital identity system used […] This story continues at The Next Web
3 months agoBRUSSELS — The Dutch government is blocking a United States-based company’s attempts to acquire a key online identification IT supplier. Dutch firm Solvinity runs a platform for the country’s DigiD app, which allows the country’s citizens to authenticate themselves online when they want to book a doctor’s appointment, buy a house or interact with public […]
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