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Frequently asked questions

  • I am looking for a domain name registrant. Where can I look it up?

    The Whois is an easy-to-use tool for checking the availability of a .nl domain name. If the domain name is already taken, you can see who has registered it.

    On the page looking up a domain name you will find more information about what a domain name is, how the Whois works and how the privacy of personal data is protected. Alternatively, you can go straight to look for a domain name via the Whois.

  • I would like to transfer my domain name to another registrar. What is the procedure?

    To get your domain name transferred, you need the token (unique ID number) for your domain name. Your existing registrar has the token and is obliged to give it to you within five days, if you ask for it. The procedure for changing your registrar is described on the page transferring your domain name.

  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date. How can I get them updated?

    To update the contact details associated with your domain name, you need to contact your registrar. Read more about updating contact details.

  • Why is my domain name in quarantine?

    When a domain name is cancelled, we aren't told the reason, so we can't tell you. You'll need to ask your registrar. The advantage of quarantine is that, if a name's cancelled by mistake, you can always get it back.

    One common reason is that the contract between you and your registrar says you've got to renew the registration every year. If you haven't set up automatic renewal and you don't renew manually, the registration will expire.

  • Ik heb een klacht over mijn provider/registrar. Kan ik daarvoor bij SIDN terecht?

    Wanneer je een klacht hebt over of een geschil met je registrar dan zijn er verschillende mogelijkheden om tot een oplossing te komen. Hierover lees je meer op pagina klacht over registrar. SIDN heeft geen formele klachtenprocedure voor het behandelen van een klacht over jouw registrar.

  • What conditions do I have to meet as a registrar?

    Would you like to be able to register domain names for customers or for your own organisation by dealing directly with SIDN? If so, you can become a .nl registrar. Read more about the conditions and how to apply for registrar status on the page becoming a registrar.

More frequently asked questions

Discover the influence of tech platforms with the Short Course on Manipulation

SIDN Fund supports initiative to defend online freedom of communication

Concept image of the influence of big-tech companies
  • Tuesday 20 April 2021

Our digital world is growing fast. Much of our communication now takes place using online platforms. We watch videos on YouTube, share photos on Instagram, and find information with Google. As a result, those communication platforms have enormous influence over our lives. They control what we see and don't see on the internet, what we can share and what we can't. So, by using popular platforms, political parties can shape what we see in the run-up to an election, for example, and influence how we vote. That's a concern for Bits of Freedom, a foundation that defends digital citizen rights and campaigns for online privacy and freedom of communication in the Netherlands. Bits of Freedom wants to see the great potential of the internet utilised, while keeping internet users firmly in control. Esther Crabbendam, a campaigner and movement builder for the foundation, describes how the Short Course on Manipulation is contributing to Bits of Freedom's mission and thus to a stronger internet.

Bits of Freedom

"Big tech companies such as Facebook and Google have been eroding our freedom of communication for years," says Esther Crabbendam. "With their platforms, they occupy a position between us and whoever we want to communicate with. So they're able to influence that communication, thus threatening our digital freedom. Bits of Freedom campaigns for better, more honest policies. We advise companies and government bodies on internet freedom and we promote public awareness by providing practical, accessible tools." "Google and Facebook decide what content is misleading, inappropriate or offensive. They can take down the material you share or stop you accessing certain information, without explaining themselves to you or allowing you to appeal," continues Esther. "For example, YouTube's family filter makes LGBTQ content invisible to many internet users, on the grounds that it's 'dangerous'. By doing that kind of thing, big online platforms are restricting our human rights."

How do online platforms influence your behaviour?

"In order to see how online platforms are collectively influencing our communications, you need to expose the various forms of manipulation. Bits of Freedom therefore asked Dr Holly Robbins, Design Researcher at the University of Eindhoven, to investigate. She identified five forms of manipulation: censorship, profiling, curatorship, dark patterns and self-manipulation." Censorship is where an online platform controls what information we share on the internet, or suppresses certain information, as described above. Profiling involves a platform collecting large volumes of user data and using it to decide what advertising and information we should see. Curatorship is the use of algorithms by platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to decide what information should be displayed most prominently. The algorithms tend to prioritise extreme, sensational content. Dark patterns are hidden features in the design of online platforms, whose purpose is to make you behave in a certain way. Finally, there is self-manipulation: changes we make to the way we use social media, as we discover that certain forms of behaviour are 'rewarded' by the algorithms. "We're using Robbins' research findings in several ways," Esther adds. "First to promote public awareness, and second to flag up the problems to policy-makers. We have also translated her results into an accessible website: the Short Course on Manipulation."

Short Course on Manipulation

"It was a challenge to translate the information into a public tool as fully as possible while also keeping everything accessible. The website and course designs were developed in partnership with web designer Liesbeth Smit. She specialises in building academic websites and converting complex research into accessible visual content. As well as working on the designs, Liesbeth helped compile the written content. For the course, we got journalist Zaïre Krieger to interview people who had been victims of online manipulation. Several members of the Bits of Freedom team were involved with the project as well: our CEO Evelyn Austin, Communication Strategist Bér Engels, Policy Advisor Rejo Zegner and me. We were also supported by a large group of volunteers, who did things such as testing, editing and translating the website texts."

Support from SIDN Fund

SIDN Fund is supporting the Short Course on Manipulation as part of a call organised in conjunction with the Adessium Foundation, under the banner "Public Values in a Digital Society". "A grant from the call organisers enabled us to carry out the research and develop the public tool," Esther confirms. "The Fund's support was therefore extremely important in financial terms. But they also helped by introducing us to other project organisers, with whom we shared knowledge. For example, we linked up with AlgorithmWatch, an organisation that's studying how the Instagram algorithm works. Robbins made use of AlgorithmWatch's findings in her research." The Short Course on Manipulation isn't the only Bits of Freedom project supported by SIDN Fund. There's also the new online privacy toolbox, for example.

Help AlgorithmWatch map Instagram's political impact

Mieke van Heesewijk, Programme Manager at SIDN Fund, explained what attracted the Fund to the initiative. "The Short Course on Manipulation dovetails perfectly with the aims of the Public Values in a Digital Society call. The course is intended to give people more insight into and control over the way platforms work. That's badly needed nowadays."

A system where we decide the rules

"We're already following up on the launch of the Short Course on Manipulation. We're working on an English version of the course, which will go live soon. And we're hoping to develop versions in other languages as well, so that digital rights organisations in other countries can make the course available on their websites, in the local language. Naturally, the site design will be freely available for reuse too."

"A system where platforms collaborate without problems and where we, the users, reclaim the internet from the big tech platforms: that's my ultimate goal. A system where we decide the rules," Esther concludes.

Do the online Short Course on Manipulation yourself and discover what impact tech companies are having on your virtual world. Visit https://www.kortecursusmanipulatie.nl/ for the course, or download the research report from https://www.kortecursusmanipulatie.nl/onderzoeksrapport/.