Залуучуудын онлайн гэмт хэрэг: Нидерландын насанд хүрээгүйчүүдийн эрүүгийн хуулийн тайлбар

In the Netherlands, young people who commit offences online are judged under ordinary criminal law, but with a separate juvenile sentencing regime. Nobody can be prosecuted for conduct before their twelfth birthday; from twelve up to eighteen, juvenile criminal law under Article 77a and following of the Dutch Criminal Code (Wetboek van Strafrecht, Sr) applies, and for young adults up to 23 the court may apply it too.

Posting, sharing or forwarding content can be an offence in exactly the same way as saying or doing the same thing offline. This article explains which online conduct is criminal, how juvenile cases are handled and what parents can do.

When does online behaviour become a criminal offence?

Online conduct is criminal when it meets the elements of an existing offence in the Criminal Code. There is no separate social-media chapter; an account, a group chat or a comment section is simply a place where an offence can be committed.

Two features make offences easier to prove online. Publicity: several offences require that a statement was made in public or aimed at publicity, and a post or a group chat with dozens of members meets that test. Permanence: messages and videos remain retrievable, and deleting them afterwards does not undo the offence.

Criticism, satire and a blunt opinion remain protected by freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The line is crossed by a specific false allegation, incitement, a threat or distribution of material that should never be shared. Our article on Хүмүүс сошиал медиагийн үр дагаврын талаар ихэвчлэн мартдаг зүйлс covers the civil side.

Which online conduct is an offence under Dutch law?

The offences below come up most often in cases involving young people. The Dutch terms matter because the English words do not map onto them exactly.

• Insult (belediging, Article 266 Sr): a demeaning expression without a factual allegation.
• Defamation (smaad and smaadschrift, Article 261 Sr): attacking someone’s honour by alleging a specific fact, with the obvious aim of publicising it. In writing or images, such as a post or video, it is smaadschrift.
• Slander (laster, Article 262 Sr): defamation by someone who knows the allegation is untrue.
• Incitement (opruiing, Article 131 Sr): publicly inciting others to commit an offence, for example a video daring followers to vandalise a building.
• Threat (bedreiging, Article 285 Sr): threatening serious violence or other listed crimes; a “joke” in a group chat is judged on how it reads.
• Stalking (belaging, Article 285b Sr): systematic intrusion into someone’s private life, such as repeated messages and fake accounts.
• Doxing (Article 285d Sr): obtaining or spreading someone’s personal data to frighten or seriously harass them; maximum two years’ imprisonment, increased by one third for police officers and other listed public officials.
• Group insult and incitement to hatred (Articles 137c-137e Sr): insulting or inciting hatred against a group because of race, religion, sexual orientation or disability, or spreading such content.
• Hacking (computervredebreuk, Article 138ab Sr): logging into someone else’s account without permission, even with a password once shared voluntarily.
• Identity fraud (Article 231b Sr): using another person’s identifying data to hide your own identity, for example through a convincing fake account.

Under Article 269 Sr, insult and defamation are in principle only prosecuted after a formal complaint (klacht) by the person concerned. The same applies to stalking under Article 285b(2) Sr. Group insult, incitement, threats and doxing do not require a complaint. Our article on Нидерланд дахь кибер гэмт хэрэг болон хакердах ажиллагаа covers the computer offences in detail.

Why are intimate images treated differently?

Sharing a sexual image of someone without consent is a criminal offence, and for images of minors the rules are much stricter. This is the category where young people most often underestimate their position.

Under Article 254ba Sr, making public a sexual image of a person while knowing this may harm them carries up to two years’ imprisonment. Whoever forwards the image commits the offence in their own right; being the tenth person in the chain is no defence.

Sexual images of anyone under eighteen are child sexual abuse material under Article 252 Sr. The law contains no general exception for images exchanged consensually between peers. The Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) is reluctant to prosecute consensual sexting between young people of similar age, but that is prosecution policy, not a right, and it does not apply once an image is forwarded or used to pressure someone.

The practical advice is short: do not ask for such images, do not keep them and never forward them. If an image of you is circulating, tell an adult and report it to the platform and the police; a court can order removal.

How does online material become evidence?

Dutch criminal courts can use screenshots, chat exports and videos as evidence, provided the material is reliable and lawfully obtained. A screenshot alone is weak because it is easy to fake; it becomes strong when it is confirmed by platform data, the same message on another phone or an admission.

The police can seize and examine phones and computers, and deleted material can often be recovered. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (Wetboek van Strafvordering, Sv) data can be requested from providers. Direct messages have no special protection: the other participant may hand them over.

If you fear an investigation, do not delete anything and do not discuss the matter online. Every new message is potential evidence in the same file. Our article on олон нийтийн мэдээллийн хэрэгслээр хийсэн мэдэгдэлд эрүүгийн хариуцлага хүлээлгэнэ explains how courts assess such messages.

How does Dutch juvenile criminal law work?

A child under twelve cannot be prosecuted. From twelve up to eighteen, Articles 77a and following of the Criminal Code replace most adult sanctions with a separate set aimed at education and correction.

The case is heard by a juvenile court judge (kinderrechter), in principle behind closed doors, and parents are summoned to attend. A minor suspect has the right to consult a lawyer before the police interview and to have a lawyer present; if a minor is arrested, the Legal Aid Board (Raad voor Rechtsbijstand) is notified so that a lawyer can be assigned (Article 489 Sv).

What is a Halt referral?

For minor offences, a young person aged twelve to seventeen can be offered a Halt project instead of prosecution (Article 77e Sr). Participation is voluntary, and the young person must admit the offence.

A Halt settlement usually includes conversations, an apology, compensation and an assignment about the behaviour. If it is completed, the police report is not sent to the public prosecutor, so no criminal conviction follows. If it is not completed, the case goes back to the prosecutor.

Which sanctions can the juvenile court impose?

For a crime (misdrijf), the main penalties are juvenile detention, a task penalty or a fine (Article 77h Sr). Under Article 77i Sr, juvenile detention is at most twelve months for an offender under sixteen and at most 24 months for a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old, and is often suspended.

A task penalty (taakstraf) consists of unpaid work, a training project or both. Under Article 77m Sr each is limited to 200 hours, and several task penalties together to 240 hours. The court can also impose measures, such as a behaviour-influencing measure or, for serious offences by a young person with a mental disorder, placement in a juvenile institution (PIJ measure, Article 77s Sr). Compensation for the victim can be awarded in the criminal case itself.

What happens with suspects aged sixteen to 23?

The eighteenth birthday is not a hard boundary. Under Article 77b Sr the court may apply adult criminal law to a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old, because of the seriousness of the offence, the offender’s personality or the circumstances.

Under Article 77c Sr the court may apply juvenile criminal law to a young adult aged eighteen to 23, if the offender’s personality or the circumstances justify it. This adolescent criminal law (adolescentenstrafrecht) depends on reports from the probation service or a behavioural expert.

Who pays for the damage: the young person or the parents?

The person harmed can bring a civil claim for an unlawful act under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW), asking for removal of the content, damages and, for false factual statements, rectification (Article 6:167 BW). This claim stands on its own and can succeed even without a prosecution. In urgent cases, summary proceedings (kort geding) can produce a removal order within weeks.

Article 6:169 BW allocates liability by age. For a child under fourteen, the parents with parental authority are liable as if it were their own act. For a child of fourteen or fifteen, the parents are liable unless they show they cannot be blamed for failing to prevent it. From sixteen, the young person is liable personally.

Family liability insurance often covers damage caused by children, but many policies exclude intentional acts, and posting a defamatory video is intentional. Check the policy and notify the insurer promptly. Our article on кибер дээрэлхэлт болон онлайн нэр хүндэд хохирол учруулах sets out the routes for the person targeted.

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A conviction is recorded in the judicial documentation register and can affect a certificate of conduct (verklaring omtrent het gedrag, VOG), which many employers, internships and courses require. Justis assesses the offence, how long ago it was committed and the purpose of the certificate; shorter look-back periods apply to offences committed as a minor. See our article on criminal records and the VOG.

A conviction can also affect the residence permit of a young person who is not a Dutch national, and entry to countries that ask about criminal history.

What should you do if the police make contact?

Treat an invitation for a police interview as serious, however informal the phone call sounds. Four steps matter, in this order.

• Contact a lawyer before the interview. A suspect may consult a lawyer beforehand and have one present; for a minor this is the norm. The lawyer first finds out what the allegation actually is.
• Say nothing about the substance until you have taken advice. Under Article 29 Sv a suspect is not obliged to answer, and must be told so before the interview.
• Delete nothing. Secure the account, chat history and device as they are; deletion after police contact will be noticed and held against you.
• Stop discussing the matter with anyone except the lawyer, including group chats and messages to the person who reported it.

Манай хөтөч ажиллаж байна Нидерландад цагдаагийн байцаалтын үеэр таны эрх explains what happens in the interview room.

What should you check as a parent of a young suspect?

Your role is support and preparation, not investigation. Check these points first.

• Has a lawyer been contacted before any police interview takes place?
• What exactly is your child suspected of, and does the offence require a formal complaint (Article 269 Sr)?
• Has all material been preserved rather than deleted?
• Is a Halt referral or another out-of-court settlement possible?
• Does your family liability insurance cover a civil claim, and have you notified the insurer?
• Could a conviction affect a future VOG or a residence permit?

What should you check if your child has been targeted?

Secure the evidence first, then choose between the criminal and the civil route, or use both.

• Take screenshots showing the account, date and content, and note the links before posts are removed.
• Report the content to the platform; under the EU Digital Services Act platforms must have a notice procedure for illegal content.
• Decide whether to file a police report, and remember that insult, defamation and stalking need a formal complaint by the person concerned.
• Consider a civil claim for removal, rectification and damages, if necessary in summary proceedings.
• Inform the school, which can act quickly when material about a pupil circulates.

For manipulated images, see our piece on Голландын хуулийн дагуу гүн хуурамч зүйлс, and for the civil route our article on онлайн гүтгэлэг болон нэр хүндийн менежмент.

What can we do for you with an online offence involving a young person?

Манай эрүүгийн хуульчид assist young people and parents on both sides of these cases.

• We assist your child before and during the police interview.
• We review the file and test whether the elements of the offence are proven.
• We discuss a Halt referral or another out-of-court settlement with the police and the Public Prosecution Service.
• We represent your child at the juvenile court hearing.
• We prepare a VOG application or an objection against a refusal.
• We bring or defend civil claims for removal of content and damages.

Дүгнэлт

• Young people aged twelve to seventeen fall under juvenile criminal law (Article 77a Sr); under twelve there is no prosecution.
• Posting, sharing or forwarding content can amount to defamation, threats, doxing or distribution of sexual images.
• Insult, defamation and stalking are only prosecuted after a formal complaint.
• Juvenile detention is capped at twelve or 24 months, a task penalty at 200 hours.
• Parents are liable for damage caused by children under fourteen, and in principle for fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds (Article 6:169 BW).

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