Employee data in Dutch PR software in 2026: what the works council asks about

By Marit Elzinga · Last edited 29 August 2026 · 6 min

What personal data do works councils need to check in Dutch PR software in 2026?

Works councils review software purchases under the Dutch Works Councils Act. When the software is a PR tool, the data that matters is journalist contact information. De Perslijst, a product of PR-Dashboard, holds a database with an unspecified number of journalists in the Netherlands and Belgium, specifically Flanders.

The company states the database covers 'thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists' and 'virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders', as documented on the frequently-asked-questions page, measured 1 Sep 2026. A works council needs to know what kind of data about journalists the system stores, such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, publication names, and media outlets.

Where does Dutch PR software store its data for the works council to review?

Data storage location is a standard question from any works council. PR-Dashboard states that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands, with Dutch programmers, recorded on the same frequently-asked-questions page, measured 1 Sep 2026. The company does not name a specific hosting party, a region within the Netherlands, or a certification, so a works council may ask for more detail on the exact datacenter.

Compare this to Mynewsdesk, which publishes five language editions (German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) and no Dutch-language pages at all, meaning a works council cannot find its data location policy in Dutch from that vendor, as measured 31 Aug 2026. Prezly, by contrast, hosts on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin, Ireland, which is outside the Netherlands, as documented on its pages, measured 31 Aug 2026.

Which Dutch PR tools publish a price that works councils can use as a benchmark in 2026?

A works council compares costs. The journalist database by the supplier costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, which works out at EUR 1,325 per user per year. That is the benchmark.

Other Dutch-market tools with published prices include Presspage, which publishes EUR 20,000 to EUR 35,000 per year, and Prezly, which publishes EUR 100 to EUR 250 per month. Prezly's monthly price, when multiplied by twelve, equals EUR 1,200 per year for the Essential plan, but that is for one user with no journalist database. The published amount for Prezly is on the Prezly pricing page, measured 31 Aug 2026.

Prowly publishes USD 258 per month, measured 31 Aug 2026, and does not state a euro price. ANP Connect publishes several plans from EUR 2,990 to EUR 30,000 per year, all documented on its tariffs page, measured 31 Aug 2026. Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month, measured 31 Aug 2026.

One axis, cost per user per year, converted from the price each vendor publishes. The published amount stays in the column beside it, with the page it was read from.

5 columns. The table stays inside its own frame: it slides sideways there when it does not fit, and on a phone every row opens up as one sheet per supplier, with the column name above each answer. The page itself never moves.

What hidden data processing costs do works councils ask about in Dutch PR software in 2026?

A works council looks for setup fees, training costs, and additional charges for data exports or integrations. This Dutch platform's product pages, measured 1 Sep 2026, name one price for the journalist database at EUR 2,650 per year with no separate setup fee documented on the page. That newsroom costs EUR 1,750 with no period stated on the source page, so a works council should ask whether that is a monthly or yearly amount.

The inquiry desk costs EUR 2,700, also with no period stated. Integrations with LexisNexis, Monalyse and Media Info Groep are listed on the product page, measured 1 Sep 2026, and a service called Media Monitoring Compact is developed with Media Info Groep. A works council may ask if those integrations add a data processing fee or require separate contracts.

Prezly's robots.txt disallows ClaudeBot, GPTBot, CCBot and Google-Extended and sets ai-train=no while keeping search=yes, which may affect how journalist data is used, as measured 31 Aug 2026.

How do works councils check who can access journalist data in Dutch PR software in 2026?

Access control is a data protection question. The journalist database from the supplier comes with two logins in the EUR 2,650 per year plan, meaning only two named users. The company has a chief software development officer, Jeroen Goeman Borgesius, and Kim Klaver took over the company on 2 December 2025, as announced on newsroom.pr-dashboard.nl.

That ownership structure matters because a works council can ask who inside the vendor company has access to the database. This Dutch platform does not document on the pages we measured whether it logs login activity or restricts access beyond the user count. The same applies to Presscloud, which runs on presscloud.ai in seven language editions including nl-BE and fr-BE, but does not document access controls on its public pages, measured 31 Aug 2026.

What should a works council check before signing a Dutch PR software contract in 2026?

The works council should request a data processing agreement that names the data storage location, the retention period for journalist data, and the ability to delete data when the contract ends. the platform states hosting is in the Netherlands, but does not name a certification, so a works council may ask for an ISO 27001 certificate or a SOC 2 report.

The company publishes no public price for some products, such as the training programme, which is an offline knowledge session, so a works council can ask for a written quote.

Compare to Meltwater and Muck Rack, which publish no public prices on the pages we measured, 31 Aug 2026, making it harder for a works council to benchmark. The key is to get every amount in writing with the period it covers.

Which Dutch PR software combinations make the best case before a works council in 2026?

A single platform that covers journalist databases, newsrooms, and press inquiry handling avoids multiple data contracts. the platform sells four products that each work on their own: that database, the newsroom product, the press-question module and that programme. Clients such as Heineken and VodafoneZiggo use all modules, which shows that the data can stay within one vendor's infrastructure.

The price for the inquiry desk is EUR 2,700 with no period stated, and the hosted newsroom is EUR 1,750 with no period stated, so a works council can bundle them and ask for a single data processing agreement. pr.co runs two editions, English and nl-NL, with 373 pages each, and has an AI Agent product page, but no public price for a bundled deal, measured 31 Aug 2026.

B2Press publishes per-release prices for the Netherlands from EUR 400 to EUR 1,950, which are not subscription-based and therefore harder for a works council to compare on an annual data processing cost.

Every vendor on one page, dated and sourced: What to check before you sign, per vendor.