Electronic harassment is not a single offence in Dutch law but a group of offences, and the right one depends on what the other person does: stalking, threats, defamation, hacking or sharing sexual images. In most cases you can also go to the civil court, which is often the faster way to stop the conduct, and you can ask platforms directly to remove content.
Whatever route you choose, the first step is the same: secure the evidence before posts or accounts disappear. Below we explain which provision fits which conduct, how to preserve evidence and how to choose between a police report, civil proceedings and a request to the platform.
What counts as electronic harassment?
Electronic harassment is any repeated or serious unwanted conduct through digital means that frightens, humiliates or controls you. The label itself has no legal meaning; what matters is which offence or civil wrong the conduct amounts to.
In practice we see the same forms again and again. There are persistent unwanted messages, e-mails or calls, sometimes from many different accounts. There is monitoring through social media, location tracking or spyware on a phone or laptop. Fake profiles are created in someone’s name. Private information, such as a home address or employer, is published to intimidate. And private or sexual images are shared, or the person threatens to share them.
These forms often overlap. An ex-partner who sends dozens of messages a day, creates a fake profile and threatens to publish photos may commit three or four offences at once. That matters, because the offences have different rules on who may prosecute and on deadlines.
Which criminal offences apply to online harassment?
The Dutch Criminal Code (Wetboek van Strafrecht, Sr) covers online harassment through several separate provisions. Which one applies depends on the conduct, not on the medium used.
Persistent, systematic intrusion into someone’s private life, with the intention of forcing that person to do or tolerate something or to make them afraid, is stalking (belaging) under Article 285b Sr. Repeated messages, following someone online and constant contact through new accounts usually fall under this provision. A threat of serious violence, including a threat sent by message or posted online, is an offence under Article 285 Sr.
A statement that deliberately harms someone’s reputation by accusing them of a specific fact is defamation (smaad) under Article 261 Sr. If the person knows the accusation is false, it is libel or calumny (laster) under Article 262 Sr. A purely abusive statement without a specific accusation is simple insult (eenvoudige belediging) under Article 266 Sr.
Gaining access to an e-mail account, a social media account or a device without permission is computer trespass (computervredebreuk) under Article 138ab Sr. Secretly making sexual images of someone, or publishing sexual images of a person when you know or should reasonably suspect that this can harm that person, is an offence under Article 139h Sr. Using someone’s identity data to create a fake profile can amount to identity fraud under Article 231b Sr.
Is doxing a criminal offence?
Yes. Since 1 January 2024, Article 285d Sr makes it an offence to obtain, spread or otherwise make available someone’s personal data with the intention of making that person afraid, causing serious nuisance or seriously hindering them in their work. Publishing a home address with a call to “pay a visit” is a typical example. The Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie, OM) has published a guideline on how it prosecutes these cases.
Does the police act on its own, or do you need to file a complaint?
For stalking, defamation, libel and insult, the OM may only prosecute if you, as the victim, file a formal complaint (klacht). For threats, computer trespass, doxing and sharing sexual images, a report is enough and the OM can act on its own initiative.
Stalking is a complaint offence under Article 285b(2) Sr. Defamation, libel and insult are complaint offences under Article 269 Sr, unless they are aimed at a public official in the performance of their duties. A complaint is more than a report (aangifte): you state explicitly that you want the suspect prosecuted. When you go to the police, ask for the report to be recorded as a report with a request for prosecution.
The complaint must be filed within three months of the day on which you became aware of the offence (Article 66 Sr). Do not wait longer than necessary. Bring your evidence with you, in an orderly form, and ask for a copy of the official record.
If you join the criminal case as an injured party (benadeelde partij) under Article 51f of the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure (Sv), the criminal court can also award you damages. The court can impose a contact or area ban as part of the sentence. In urgent cases the public prosecutor can impose a behavioural order (gedragsaanwijzing) before trial, such as a ban on contact with you.
How do you secure evidence of online harassment?
Save everything, in full, before it is deleted: screenshots with the full URL, the account name and the date and time, plus the original messages and e-mails. Without that evidence, neither the police nor a court can do much.
Posts can be edited or removed and accounts can disappear within minutes. Make screenshots that show the complete page, including the web address, the name or handle of the account and the date. For messages on WhatsApp, Signal or similar apps, keep the phone and export the chat where possible. Keep e-mails in their original form, because the header data can show where they came from.
Keep a simple log as well: date, time, what happened, on which platform and whether there were witnesses. A court looks at the pattern, and a log shows that pattern far better than a loose pile of screenshots. If the evidence is extensive or you expect a dispute about its authenticity, a bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder) can record online content in an official report.
Do not hack back, log into the other person’s accounts or install software on their devices to collect evidence. That may itself be computer trespass under Article 138ab Sr, and it weakens your position.
How can a civil court stop the harassment quickly?
In summary proceedings (kort geding) the preliminary relief judge (voorzieningenrechter) can order the other person to stop all contact, stay away from you and remove content, usually within a few weeks. Each order can be backed by a penalty payment (dwangsom) for every breach.
The legal basis is a wrongful act (onrechtmatige daad) under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW). Stalking, threats, defamation and publishing private information generally infringe your right to privacy and your good name. You do not need to wait for the outcome of a criminal case, and the judge only assesses whether your claim is likely enough to succeed.
A civil procedure is often the better choice when you mainly want the conduct to stop. Consider someone who is flooded with messages by a former business partner, while the police say the case has no priority. A court order with a penalty for every new message often ends the conduct faster than a criminal case that takes months. The penalty payments also give you a financial lever. You can claim damages in the same proceedings or in separate proceedings on the merits, including compensation for emotional harm where the legal conditions are met.
What if you do not know who is behind the account?
You can ask the platform or hosting provider to disclose the identifying data of the account holder. The Supreme Court set the conditions in Lycos/Pessers (ECLI:NL:HR:2005:AU4019).
The provider must disclose the data if it is sufficiently plausible that the content is unlawful and harmful, you have a real interest in the data, there is no less intrusive way to obtain it, and your interests outweigh those of the provider and the account holder. If the provider refuses, a court can order disclosure. For platforms based outside the Netherlands this takes more time, but it is possible.
Can you ask a platform to remove content without going to court?
Yes. Under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), platforms must offer a way to report illegal content and must decide on your report in a timely and careful manner. Under Article 17 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) you can also ask for your personal data to be erased.
Use the platform’s own reporting form and refer specifically to the offence, for example stalking, threats or publishing sexual images without consent. Attach your evidence and keep a copy of your report and of the platform’s answer. If the platform does not respond or refuses without good reason, that refusal can be useful later, in summary proceedings against the platform or the other person.
For sexual images, the specialist helpdesk Helpwanted.nl can help you have images removed. If the platform is unwilling to erase personal data, you can file a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens).
What if the harassment happens at work?
If a colleague or manager harasses you online, your employer must act. Under Article 3(2) of the Working Conditions Act (Arbeidsomstandighedenwet), employers must have a policy to prevent and limit psychosocial workload, which includes intimidation and harassment.
Report the conduct to your manager, HR or the confidential adviser (vertrouwenspersoon), and do so in writing. An employer who does nothing may be liable under Article 7:658 BW for damage you suffer. The criminal and civil routes described above remain open to you as well.
In summary
- Online harassment falls under several offences, including stalking (Article 285b Sr), threats (Article 285 Sr), defamation (Article 261 Sr), computer trespass (Article 138ab Sr) and doxing (Article 285d Sr).
- Stalking, defamation, libel and insult are only prosecuted after a formal complaint by the victim, filed within three months.
- Secure the evidence first: full screenshots with URL, account name and date, plus a log of incidents.
- A civil court can quickly order a contact ban and removal of content, backed by penalty payments.
- Platforms must handle reports of illegal content under the DSA, and you can request erasure of personal data under the GDPR.
Frequently asked questions
What is electronic harassment?
Electronic harassment is repeated or serious unwanted conduct through digital means, such as messages, fake profiles, tracking or sharing images. Dutch law has no single offence for it; the conduct is dealt with under offences such as stalking, threats, defamation and computer trespass.
Which offences apply to online harassment in the Netherlands?
The main ones are stalking (Article 285b Sr), threats (Article 285 Sr), defamation and libel (Articles 261 and 262 Sr), insult (Article 266 Sr), computer trespass (Article 138ab Sr), sexual images (Article 139h Sr) and doxing (Article 285d Sr).
Do I need to file a complaint for online stalking?
Yes. Stalking, defamation, libel and insult are only prosecuted if the victim files a formal complaint, within three months of becoming aware of the offence. Threats, hacking, doxing and sharing sexual images can be prosecuted without a complaint.
Can a court order someone to stop contacting me?
Yes. In summary proceedings the civil court can impose a contact ban, a ban on approaching you and an order to remove content, backed by a penalty payment for every breach. Such proceedings usually take a few weeks.
Law & More helps victims of online harassment with complaints to the police, summary proceedings and requests to platforms. Unsure where you stand? Tell us about your situation. We will let you know your options within one working day.
How Law & More can help you with this is explained on our criminal lawyer page.
