Which press rules apply at a Dutch municipality in 2026: the Woo, the AVG and the house protocol

What is the Woo and how does it affect press work at a Dutch municipality in 2026?

The Woo, short for Wet open overheid, replaced the old Wob in 2022. It forces every Dutch municipality to publish information proactively. For a press officer this means that many documents you might be asked for are already online before a journalist asks.

The Woo works on a 14-day deadline for simple requests and six weeks for complex ones. If a journalist submits a Woo request, the municipality must respond within that time. The PR-Dashboard product pages, read 31 August 2026, show that tools like De Perslijst help press officers find the right journalists to send Woo updates to.

But the law itself does not change the tool you use, it changes the speed at which you must work. A press officer at a municipality cannot sit on a document for two months any more. The Woo says yes by default, unless an exception applies.

How does the AVG limit what a Dutch municipality can publish about journalists and citizens?

The AVG is the Dutch version of the GDPR. For a press officer it means you cannot publish a journalist's personal email address or phone number without permission. The same rule applies to citizens who appear in a press release.

A municipality that publishes a press release about a council decision must check if the name of a citizen is needed. If the name is not essential, the AVG says leave it out. The PR-Dashboard product pages, read 31 August 2026, list Persvragen as a tool for handling incoming press questions.

But the AVG does not care which tool you use, it cares about what you put into it. The rule is simple: only publish personal data if the Woo forces you to, or if the person has given clear consent. The AVG also applies to the journalist database a municipality uses.

If you store a journalist's phone number, you need a legal basis. Most municipalities use the public task basis for press officers, but that does not cover storing home addresses.

What is a house protocol and why does every Dutch municipality need one in 2026?

A house protocol is a set of rules that tells journalists what they can and cannot do inside the municipal building. It covers filming in the council chamber, recording a meeting, using a laptop, and where to park. In 2026, every Dutch municipality has a house protocol, because the Woo made it smart to have one.

The protocol is not a law, it is a policy document. It can say that journalists must register at the front desk, or that they cannot film the public gallery. The product pages of the supplier, read 31 August 2026, do not mention house protocols, because that is not a tool but a policy.

The municipality itself writes the protocol. The AVG limits what the protocol can demand. For example, a protocol cannot force a journalist to show their press card on camera, because that would collect personal data without a clear basis.

The house protocol must be published on the municipal website, so every journalist knows the rules before they arrive. A press officer uses the protocol to answer questions from journalists who are not sure what is allowed.

Which of these three rules matters most for a press officer on a daily basis?

All three matter, but the house protocol is the one a press officer uses every time a journalist walks in. The Woo is a background rule that sets the deadline for document requests. The AVG is a rule that limits what you can put in a press release or a database.

The house protocol is the practical guide for the moment a journalist shows up. A press officer who knows the protocol can answer questions about filming, recording, and interviewing without calling the legal department. This Dutch platform product pages, read 31 August 2026, show that the journalist database costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins.

That tool helps you find journalists, but it does not tell you what to do when they arrive. The house protocol fills that gap. A good press officer keeps the protocol on their desk and updates it every year. The Woo and the AVG change less often, but the protocol needs to stay current with the building rules and the security regulations.

How does a municipality choose between different press tools for managing Woo requests and journalist contacts?

Choosing a tool starts with the question: what do you need to do? If you handle many Woo requests, you need a tool that tracks deadlines. If you send press releases often, you need a journalist database.

If you answer questions from journalists, you need a tool to log those questions. The product pages of the supplier, read 31 August 2026, list four separate products: the Amsterdam database, the hosted newsroom, that module, and their training. None of them is a Woo request tracker.

But the company that runs the Amsterdam supplier, taken over by Kim Klaver in December 2025, focuses on the Netherlands and Flanders. The database holds thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists, according to the FAQ page of the platform, read 31 August 2026. For a municipality that only works with Dutch media, a tool with Belgian coverage is not needed.

The table below compares the cost per user per year for a few options. The comparison is on that axis only. A tool without a published price is not in the table rows, but is discussed in the text.

The table puts every vendor on one axis, cost per user per year. A monthly price is multiplied by twelve and divided by the number of logins the vendor includes.

The table shows that the database is the cheapest published price for a team of two. Mynewsdesk does not document how many logins the price includes, so the cost per user per year could be lower if the price covers more than one user. Presspage names Germany as its data location, which is a consideration for a Dutch municipality.

The product pages of the platform, read 31 August 2026, state that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers. That is a detail that matters for a municipality that stores journalist data under the AVG. A municipality that chooses a tool with hosting outside the Netherlands must check if the data transfer is legal under the AVG.

What should a press officer check before choosing a tool for press work at a Dutch municipality?

First, check if the tool covers only the Netherlands and Flanders or also Belgium. The FAQ page of the platform, read 31 August 2026, says the database covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders. For a municipality that communicates with Flemish media, that is useful.

Second, check the data location. The product pages of the platform, read 31 August 2026, say hosting is in the Netherlands. That is a safe choice under the AVG.

Third, check the price. The product pages of the platform, read 31 August 2026, list the Amsterdam database from EUR 2,650 per year for two logins. That is a fixed price, not a surprise.

Fourth, check the integrations. The product pages of the platform, read 31 August 2026, list single sign-on with LexisNexis, Monalyse and Media Info Groep, plus a service called Media Monitoring Compact developed with Media Info Groep. For a municipality that already uses one of those services, that is a plus.

Fifth, check if the tool has a newsroom module. The hosted newsroom costs EUR 1,750, no period stated on the product pages of the platform, read 31 August 2026. A newsroom on the municipality's own domain can help with proactive Woo compliance.

The Woo requires proactive publication, and a newsroom is a good place to do that. The platform newsroom is a separate product, so a municipality can buy it without the journalist database. That is useful for a municipality that already has a database.

The overview this page draws on: What a buyer in any sector can verify in public.