Jiahui Plomp

Since June 28, 2025, new rules have been in force in the Netherlands regarding the digital accessibility of products and online services. With the introduction of the European Accessibility Act, commercial organizations such as banks, e-commerce companies, transport companies, and communication companies are now also required to make their digital products and services accessible in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). As a result, many more companies will have to adapt their websites and apps to offer an inclusive user experience that can be used independently, without the help of third parties. Previously, this obligation only applied to government institutions under the Temporary Digital Accessibility Decree. Commercial organizations were previously exempt, but this has changed with the introduction of the European Accessibility Act. The Netherlands has incorporated the directive into the Accessible Products and Services Bill. Recently, questions about the Accessibility Directive were recently asked in the Dutch House of Representatives. Scope of application The directive has a broad scope and applies to various products and services provided by private parties, including those of financial institutions. Examples include payment terminals, ATMs, consumer banking services such as internet banking, and e-commerce services such as opening a savings account or taking out insurance online. Banks and other service providers must design their products and services in such a way that everyone can use them. This means that information must be available through multiple senses, for example, both in written text and as spoken explanations. Websites and apps must be easy to use with screen readers and speech recognition. Payment terminals must be accessible to people with visual impairments, for example, through speech support. Consumers must also be able to conduct their banking affairs offline, by telephone or in person at the counter. All information must also be understandable and written at a maximum language level of B2. Transition period and exceptions A transition period until 2030 applies to existing products and services. Small businesses with fewer than ten employees and an annual turnover of up to two million euros are exempt from the obligations. Exceptions are possible if adaptation would impose a disproportionate burden or fundamentally change the nature of the product, provided this is properly substantiated. The directive does not apply to services between businesses. Supervision and enforcement The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten) specifically supervises financial companies, such as banks, insurers, investment institutions, asset managers, and lenders. This means that the AFM ensures that these services are accessible to all consumers, including the more than two million people with disabilities in the Netherlands. The basic principle is that consumers must be able to purchase these financial services independently and without the help of third parties. This is in line with the message of the AFM during Accessibility Week (October 6-12, 2025), which emphasizes that financial products and services must be accessible to everyone. In the Netherlands, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (Autoriteit Consument en Markt), the National Inspectorate for Digital Infrastructure (RDI), the Dutch Media Authority (Commissariaat voor de Media), and the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport) are also involved in supervising other sectors. If the supervisory authority discovers that a product or service does not comply with the rules set out in the directive, the company must take appropriate corrective measures without delay. The supervisory authority determines the timeframe within which this must be done, depending on the severity of the problem. If a company fails to take the appropriate measures in time to resolve a problem with a product or service, a supervisory authority may intervene. It may then take appropriate provisional measures, such as imposing a fine, banning or restricting the product in question, or even withdrawing it from the market altogether. Contact Do you have questions about this topic or would you like to discuss the European Accessibility Act? Please contact Donald Volleberg, Jiahui Plomp or our Insolvency, Restructurering & Finance, Securities law team. We are happy to assist you.

On July 23rd, 2025, the International Court of Justice issued a groundbreaking advisory opinion on the obligations of states under international law with regard to climate change and climate agreements. In this article, we discuss the essence of the advisory opinion and its potential impact on Dutch and international case law concerning the climate liability of companies and states. Reason: Vanuatu’s appeal The initiative for these proceedings came from the island nation of Vanuatu, which is threatened by rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions. On March 29, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 77/276, requesting the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on (in short) the following questions: What are the obligations of states under international law with regard to human-induced climate change? What are the legal consequences for states whose actions have caused significant damage to the climate and the environment, resulting in effects that will be felt by certain states and future generations? What is the contents of the opinion about climate agreements? The International Court of Justice confirms that states are obliged to protect the climate. These obligations arise from the UN Charter, the UN Climate Convention, the Paris Agreement, the rights recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international customary law, and general principles of law. The International Court of Justice qualifies these obligations as erga omnes. This means that these obligations apply to every state. Even states that are not party to the climate treaties may therefore be required to take effective measures to limit climate change. In addition, there is an obligation for states to cooperate and support each other. The ruling on liability is striking: states that fail to meet their climate obligations and thereby cause damage may be required to compensate for that damage in full. A state that takes insufficient measures to reduce its CO2 emissions could therefore, in theory, be liable to another state that suffers damage as a result. However, a complex causality threshold applies here. Legal significance: not binding, but influential Although the advisory opinion is not binding, its legal and political impact could potentially be significant. Thousands of lawsuits relating to climate change are currently pending worldwide, including a number in the Netherlands. Examples include the proceedings brought by Dutch enviromental defense organisation ‘Milieudefensie’ against the ING bank and the ongoing appeal in cassation in the case of Milieudefensie against Royal Dutch Shell. The opinion of the International Court of Justice implies that non-compliance with international climate agreements must have concrete consequences. This is in line with a trend in Dutch case law, in which international climate agreements end up entailing concrete obligations for companies and the State. For example, in the Shell case, the Court of Appeal in The Hague ruled that international climate agreements contribute to an obligation for companies such as Shell to reduce their CO2 emissions. The reduction obligation imposed on the State by the Dutch Supreme Court in 2019’s Urgenda ruling was also based in part on international climate agreements. In the proceedings against ING, which have not yet been heard on their merits, Milieudefensie also invokes such agreements in its summons. It is therefore not inconceivable that the non-binding ruling of the International Court of Justice will play a role in future climate cases against banks, other companies, and governments, both in the Netherlands and abroad. Want to know more? Do you have questions about this topic or would you like to discuss the consequences of the Court’s ruling? Please contact La Gro’s Energy team or Climate Litigation team. We are happy to assist you.

The transition to a sustainable economy requires not only innovation and decisiveness, but also smart financing solutions. Two instruments that are playing an increasingly important role in this regard are green bonds and sustainability-linked loans (SLLs). In this blog, we explain what these forms of financing entail, what the legal considerations are and how we support our clients in this regard. What are green bonds? Green bonds are bonds whose proceeds are used exclusively for sustainable projects. Examples include the construction of a wind farm, making real estate more sustainable or investing in clean public transport. The issuer – often a company, bank or government – contractually commits to spending the money raised only on these green projects. A practical example: A Dutch developer issues a green bond to finance the construction of a new solar park. Investors, including local entrepreneurs and even private individuals, can thus be sure that their money is contributing to the (local) energy transition. Each year, the developer reports on progress and environmental gains, such as the amount of green electricity generated. What are sustainability-linked loans (SLLs)? SLLs are loans in which the interest rate or other conditions are linked to the borrower’s achievement of sustainability targets. What makes them special is that the borrowed money can be spent freely, but the borrower commits to achieving specific ESG targets, such as reducing CO2 emissions or increasing the proportion of women in management. Real-life example: An international manufacturing company takes out an SLL with a bank. The loan agreement stipulates that the interest rate will fall by 0.2% if the company manages to reduce its CO2 emissions by 15% within three years. If the target is not achieved, the interest rate will increase. This creates a financial incentive to do business sustainably. Legal considerations With both forms of financing, it is essential to set out the agreements clearly and in a verifiable manner. This includes: Clear definitions of ‘green’ projects or KPIs; Independent assessment and reporting; Consequences of not achieving the targets; Transparency towards investors and regulators. Our ESG team The lawyers in our ESG team are happy to advise on drafting and assessing these contracts, structuring the financing and complying with the increasingly stringent regulations in the field of sustainability. Our ESG project team combines in-depth knowledge of financing law with up-to-date insights into sustainability legislation. We advise on setting up green bonds and SLLs, from the initial exploration to closing and post-closing reporting. Want to know more? Would you like to know what green bonds or SLLs can do for your organisation, or do you have questions about the legal aspects? Feel free to contact our ESG project team. We are happy to work with you to find sustainable financing solutions that work in practice.

The European Data Act comes into force with effect from 12 September 2025. This Regulation creates new rights and obligations that cover not just personal data, but data in general. The practical implications are huge. The Data Act particularly affects parties offering connected or Internet of Things (IoT)) products and cloud services. What is not often mentioned is that the Regulation also contains rules on data sharing agreements. These rules apply to all businesses. Providers of connected devices and related services The first main topic in the Data Act concerns the rules on the sharing and use of usage data from connected products and related services. These include products and services such as smartwatches and smart speakers with a virtual assistant like Alexa, as well as agricultural machinery with internet access. Businesses must comply with new obligations regarding connected products and related services as a result of the Data Act. First, companies that produce connected products and provide related services should design the products and services so that users can easily access their data (data access by design). Moreover, the Data Act gives users an explicit right of access to usage data. This right of access means that users of connected products and related services can easily access their usage data where data access by design has not been provided for. In addition, enterprises should also allow users to easily share their usage data with another party. Finally, buyers of connected products and recipients of a related service from the seller and the provider, respectively, should also be given certain information about how the connected product collects data. The data holder (usually the provider of the connected product or a related service) may now use non-personal data only if the agreement with the user of the connected product or related service allows it. The data holder must not use the data to derive insights about the economic situation, assets and production methods of the user, or the user’s use of the product or service, in a manner that could undermine the commercial position of the user on the markets in which the user is active. Data may be shared with third parties only when necessary to perform the agreement with the user. From 12 September 2026, connected products sold and related services provided must comply with the data access by design obligation. The other rules on connected products and related services, including the explicit right of access, already apply from 12 September 2025. Cloud service providers The second main topic concerns the rules imposed on data processing services. The term data processing services refers to a wide range of cloud services. The preamble refers to infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service (SaaS), storage as a service and database as a service. The term also covers what are known as edge services. The obligations imposed on data processing service providers relate to 1) facilitating switching, 2) facilitating interoperability between different data processing services and 3) preventing international governmental access. From 12 September 2025, data processing service providers will have to comply with these rules. Sharing of data with governments The third main topic concerns rules on mandatory data sharing with public sector bodies, the European Central Bank, the European Commission or any other European Union body. These bodies can request data on the basis of exceptional necessity. This can only be done if, in an emergency situation, the bodies cannot obtain the data in a proper and timely manner by other means. Bodies may also request non-personal data when such data is necessary for the performance of a specific task in the public interest, such as the compilation of official statistics. These rules will also apply from 12 September 2025. Unfair contractual terms between enterprises Perhaps the most surprising part of the Data Act is the provision on unfair contractual terms. It applies to data-sharing agreements made between enterprises (B2B). In short, the article provides that contractual terms on data are not binding on the other party if the terms have been unilaterally imposed by the provider and are labelled unfair. The article contains a list of provisions that are always unfair (a black list) and a list of provisions that are presumed to be unfair (a grey list). If an enterprise uses a grey list clause, this enterprise must prove that the clause is not unfair. What is striking about the article is that it is set up as a black and grey list between enterprises. Black and grey lists have long existed for general terms and conditions imposed on consumers by enterprises (see, for example, Articles 6:236 and 6:237 of the Civil Code), protecting consumers from unfair general terms and conditions. So now there is a similar list for business-to-business agreements. This provision applies regardless of the size of the enterprises concerned. The obligations in this article cover all contracts and clauses on data access and use concluded between enterprises. Any agreement or provision on data sharing and use will need to take this article into account. The article will often also apply when enterprises enter into contracts between themselves about personal data, such as a joint controller agreement under Article 26 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The application of the article is mandatory law. This means that enterprises cannot agree that the article does not apply to their relationship and cannot deviate from it. It is important that enterprises are aware of this article when entering into agreements on (personal) data. For buyers, though, it is important to always try to negotiate the unfair contract terms imposed on them. If no attempt has been made to negotiate the unfair terms, an enterprise cannot invoke the protection of the article. The provision applies to all agreements concluded after 12 September 2025. For some agreements entered into before 13 September 2025, the provision applies from 12 September 2027. This applies to agreements entered into for an indefinite period and those expiring after 11 January 2034. Monitoring and enforcement of the Data Act The Data Act has direct effect in the Dutch legal order, leaving no or limited scope for divergent or additional national rules. For the matters to be regulated nationally, a national Implementation Act is pending. The Regulation gives Member States the freedom to decide themselves which supervisory authority is competent to enforce the Regulation’s provisions. In the Netherlands, the Lower House has yet to vote on the draft Dutch Implementation Act. The current draft Data Regulation Implementation Act designates the Data Protection Authority (AP) and the Consumer and Market Authority (ACM) as supervisors. Conclusion The Data Act will apply in the Netherlands from 12 September 2025. The Data Act creates new rights and obligations for enterprises in particular. In particular, all enterprises will have to be vigilant of the rules on unfair contractual terms when concluding agreements on (personal) data. The AP and the ACM are likely to be designated as supervisors for compliance with the Regulation. The Data Act is not applicable at present. Nevertheless, enterprises are advised to take measures in advance. This will allow timely adaptation of operations to the obligations imposed by the Regulation. Finally More blogs on this topic will follow. Keep an eye on our website for the latest news. This blog originally appeared on Privacy Web. If you have any questions about the Data Act, please contact Jan Baas, Jiahui Plomp or one of our other Data & Privacy specialists. This article was co-authored by Jolijn Gijsen.