2026 ACM Agenda

Ensuring that markets work well for all people and businesses, now and in the future. With that mission in mind, we work towards achieving the greatest possible social value, in all of our efforts.

We take a broad, multidisciplinary perspective when looking at problems in the functioning of markets. If we see that a market is failing, we will take action. In 2026, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) will focus on these strategic objectives:

Helping create a safe and fair digital economy.
Accelerating the energy transition and the sustainability transition.
Promoting innovation and resilience.

Helping create a safe and fair digital economy

The digital economy offers everyone great opportunities, but it also calls for strict oversight in order to safeguard fair competition, innovation, and the protection of people and businesses. The power that several international tech firms have is enormous. It can impede competition, and negatively affect our society. Addictive designs and misleading techniques used by digital platforms are harmful, for example in gaming and online purchases aimed at minors. That is why ACM intensifies its oversight over the digital economy, in close cooperation with the European Commission and other national and European regulators.

What will we do in 2026?

Conducting a study into possible measures for protecting minors against Snapchat in connection with illegal trade in vaping products on the platform.
Participating in a European investigation into the use of loot boxes and virtual currencies by an international game provider.
Completing an investigation into possibly anticompetitive abuse of dominance by an international software supplier.
Reminding online platforms of their responsibility for trustworthy online information during election campaigns, and for handling reports about illegal content with care.
Completing an investigation into practices of online sales platform Bol.
Participating in a joint investigation with the European Commission 1) into compliance with the Digital Markets Act among major digital platforms (called gatekeepers) and 2) whether these rules also apply to the cloud services of Microsoft and Amazon.
Publishing the findings of its market investigations into computer-controlled consumer prices in the airline sector, the budget segment of the fixed broadband market, and digital education tools.

Accelerating the energy transition and the sustainability transition

Sweeping changes to our energy system are needed in order to distribute the costs fairly, reduce our dependence on energy from abroad, and to realize our sustainability goals. Reducing the congestion on the grid has the highest priority, considering the impact thereof on society. The use of heat is necessary for the energy transition. For certain neighborhoods and homes, a connection to a heat network is the most efficient way to make homes natural-gas-free. ACM supports the transition to a more sustainable economy as well as the innovation that is needed for that, for example by assessing in advance sustainability agreements at the request of market participants. Green innovation contributes to the economy’s long-term resilience and productivity. ACM prioritizes the reusing and recycling of products, as well as the creation of a level playing field. Information about new energy products and sustainability claims get special attention. People must be able to trust the sustainability information of businesses, so that they are able to make well-informed decisions.

What will we do in 2026?

Market investigation into consumer energy products in order to identify areas of improvement with regard to ease of understanding, as well as ways for making switching easier.
Setting a new regulatory framework for the network tariffs of system operators for natural gas and electricity from 2027. ACM assesses whether system operators include in their investment plans the right, socially desired investments in the networks.
Presenting a dashboard indicating the status of grid congestion measures, so that system operators are able to utilize the current grid better, as well as to connect more users to the grid.
Working out a method for determining the value of heat networks that are transferred to public ownership, preparing for cost-based heat tariffs, and conducting a study into the financial returns of heat suppliers.
Conducting a study into and providing information about warranties, repairs, and product life spans.
Preparing for the enforcement of European rules regarding corporate sustainability.

Promoting innovation and resilience

Innovation and growth are major priorities for the Dutch and European economic policies. The need for us as a country to become less dependent on a small number of very large, non-European companies is getting ever clearer. Regulators such as ACM play a role in taking away barriers for innovative Dutch and European businesses, for example by taking action against abuse of dominance, by making it easier to access data, and by stimulating the use of data in a safe and trustworthy manner. ACM offers opportunities for innovation in critical sectors such as energy and digital services. In well-functioning markets, people and businesses are resilient, meaning they are able to absorb shocks in vital services, such as energy and telecom. With the right information, resilient consumers are able to navigate both the online and offline worlds. Markets must also function well for consumers in vulnerable positions, such as seniors, people with lower incomes, or people with below-basic digital skills. In order to make consumers more resilient, we inform them about their rights.

What will we do in 2026?

Organizing roundtable meetings for businesses, local governments, and lobbying organizations aimed at boosting innovation and resilience in the Netherlands.
Working out a new regulatory regime for data access on the basis of the Data Act, as well as informing businesses about that.
Conducting an exploratory study into opportunities for stimulating the Dutch and European cloud sector, and into reducing the dependence of Dutch companies and organizations on a limited number of cloud providers.
Taking into consideration innovation and resilience as public interests in the assessment of concentrations and collaborations between competitors.
Educating businesses about the use of AI chatbots (generative AI) in customer service with care, in collaboration with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP).
Educating online stores about accessibility requirements.

What calls for extra attention?

Giving advice about modernizing competition enforcement by adding a call-in power and a New Competition Tool to prevent market power, and to stimulate innovation and resilience.
Giving advice about rules and regulations that lag behind social developments, in order to reduce red tape and administrative costs.
Strengthening the organizational structure, with an eye to efficient and impactful oversight, fitting with ACM’s independence and comparable with that of the other major regulators.
Carrying out ACM’s improvement project (called IPA), which seeks to strengthen the organization’s business operations, IT, and information services.
Applying Gen AI in ACM’s regulatory processes in order to improve the quality and speed of ACM’s work.

How do we do that?

ACM has a budget of 131 million euros and approximately 850 employees. Everyone at ACM fulfills the mission by working in accordance with ACM’s core values of openness, independence, and resourcefulness.

We identify risks and problems on time, and set priorities on the basis of harm to well-functioning markets and public interests.
We listen to citizens, businesses, and civil-society organizations, and we sit down with them.
We are impartial, and take decisions independently on the basis of facts and sound analyses, and carefully assess the various interests of people and businesses.
We take on a mission-driven and multidisciplinary approach when working together towards solutions to market problems, among ourselves as well as with other organizations.