A majority in the Dutch parliament supports a plan by the VVD to prosecute influencers who are not medical professionals and spread misinformation online about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and contraceptives. According to VVD MP Dieke van Groningen, statements like “hormones are poison” and “condoms are unnatural” seriously damage young people’s health, RTL Nieuws reports.

Van Groningen told the broadcaster that she was deeply shocked to learn that the number of STIs tripled over the past decades to 106,331 diagnoses in 2024. “The total nonsense that influencers spread on social media is, in my opinion, partly the cause of this,” she said. “These influencers are seriously damaging the health of young people with their ‘medical advice.’ Moreover, algorithms ensure that this extreme content keeps resurfacing online, with all the associated physical harm.”

The VVD parliamentarian wants this type of advice from non-medical professionals to be criminalized. “Spreading medical misinformation is so dangerous; we must put a stop to it,” Van Groningen said.

The CDA, D66, JA21, and Groep Markuszower support the plan, meaning that there is a majority of 82 seats in favor of this strict approach. “Facts matter. Especially when it concerns the health of young people,” D66 MP Marijke Synhaeve told RTL Nieuws about the proposal.

Previously, SOA Aids Nederland, the municipal health service GGD, and the Rutgers Center for Sexuality raised the alarm about online misinformation on STIs and contraceptives. They warned that online posts are “one-sided or manipulative” and influence people’s decisions on things like what contraceptives to use, if any, and how to have safe sex.

SOA AIDS Nederland is therefore pleased that politicians are taking action. “Disinformation will have to be tackled in multiple ways,” Hanna Bos told RTL Nieuws. Good education and action from social media companies will be needed. “And it is possible that targeting such influencers could also make a contribution.”