Automatic translation of arnhem.nl with DeepL Pro

Municipality of Arnhem

The Municipality of Arnhem uses DeepL Pro for the automatic translation of (parts of) www.arnhem.nl. DeepL Pro delivers high-quality translations quickly and securely via neural networks, with attention to context and privacy.

Last change on 16th of May 2025, at 9:24 (CET) | Publication Standard 1.0

• Publication category: Other algorithms
• Impact assessment: DPIA
• Status: In use

General information

Theme

Organisation and business operations

Begin date

04-2025

Contact information

[e-mail]

Link to publication website

opendata.arnhem.nl

Responsible use

Goal and impact

The purpose of deploying DeepL Pro is to automatically and accurately translate (parts of) the municipal website www.arnhem.nl into multiple languages. This increases the accessibility of municipal information for non-native residents and international visitors. DeepL Pro allows full web pages, texts and documents to be translated quickly, securely and in high quality, retaining context and nuance.

• Accessibility: Residents and visitors who do not speak the Dutch language can easily access municipal information, promoting inclusion and equal service provision.

• Quality: DeepL Pro delivers high-quality translations, which often require less post-editing than other machine translation services, thanks in part to features such as Clarify and the ability to adjust the tone (formal/informal).

• Privacy and security: DeepL Pro guarantees maximum data security; texts are sent over an encrypted connection and deleted immediately after translation, keeping privacy-sensitive information protected. DeepL Pro does not use input to train the algorithm and does not permanently store documents.

• Efficiency: The automatic translation service makes managing multilingual content more efficient and less labour-intensive for the organisation.

The deployment of DeepL Pro supports the municipality's digital services without directly impacting citizens' rights or duties. The system has a supporting role and contributes to the transparency and accessibility of municipal information.

Considerations

Benefits:

• Accessibility: Information on arnhem.nl will be available in multiple languages, enabling foreign-language residents and visitors to independently access municipal information and arrange matters online.

• Quick and easy access: Citizens do not have to wait for manual translations or third-party help; the translation is available immediately on the website.

• Privacy protection:DeepL Pro does not store translated texts and deletes them immediately after processing, protecting users' privacy.

• High translation accuracy:DeepL Pro generally delivers higher-quality translations than many free alternatives, reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings.

• Inclusiveness:Removing language barriers makes municipal services more accessible to a diverse group of residents, contributing to equal opportunities and social participation.

Disadvantages:

• Not always error-free: Automatic translations may contain errors or miss nuances, risking misinterpretation of important information.

• Limited language choice: DeepL Pro supports fewer languages than some other translation systems, so not all languages of residents or visitors are covered.

• No legal validity: Automatically translated texts are not legally binding; official procedures may still need to be handled in Dutch.

• Dependence on technology: In case of technical failure or maintenance, machine translation is temporarily unavailable.

Justification:

The advantages for citizens - such as instant accessibility, privacy protection, and inclusiveness - outweigh the disadvantages. The deployment of DeepL Pro is reasonably justified because it enables citizens to obtain municipal information independently and easily accessible, while ensuring privacy and ease of use. Any disadvantages are overcome by clear communication about the informative nature of the translations and the fact that official procedures remain in Dutch.

Human intervention

At DeepL Pro, translations are generated fully automatically; by default, no human checking or correction takes place before publication. However, after publication, staff can randomly check translations and manually adjust or correct them where necessary, for example if there are signals of errors or ambiguities. In addition, DeepL features such as Clarify enable users to be actively involved in the translation process, allowing human input to further improve the quality of translations.

Risk management

• Privacy and data protection: DeepL Pro complies with the strictest data security and privacy requirements, including the AVG. Translated texts are deleted immediately after processing and not stored, minimising the risk of data leaks or unwanted storage of personal data

• Quality of translations: To reduce the risk of incorrect or unclear translations, staff can randomly check and correct translations. In addition, DeepL Pro offers features such as Clarify, which allows users to actively indicate the correct context to make translations more accurate.

• Technical failures and errors: The system is set up to automatically recognise error messages (such as too many requests or server errors) and fix them where possible, for example by resending requests according to best practices for error handling.

• Language coverage restrictions: it is clearly communicated to users that not all languages are supported, and that translations are informative and do not have legal status.

Through these measures, key risks are actively managed and the deployment of DeepL Pro remains responsible and safe for both the organisation and citizens.

Legal basis

The legal basis for making municipal websites accessible, and thus using DeepL Pro for machine translation, stems from the Digital Government Act (Wdo), elaborated in the Government Digital Accessibility Decree. This law requires government organisations to make their websites and all content accessible to everyone, including people who are not proficient in the Dutch language. This has been a legal obligation since July 2018 and part of the Digital Government Act since July 2023.

In addition, this obligation is based on the UN Disability Convention and the Equal Treatment on the Basis of Disability or Chronic Illness Act, both of which require digital information and services to be accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities or different language backgrounds.

Links to legal bases

Artikel 3 lid 1 Besluit digitale toegankelijkheid overheid: https://wetten.overheid.nl/jci1.3:c:BWBR0040936&hoofdstuk=2&artikel=3&z=2018-07-01&g=2018-07-01

Elaboration on impact assessments

The municipality conducted a pre-DPIA prior to the deployment ofDeep L Pro. This abbreviated risk assessment showed that the proposed processing of personal data does not pose a high privacy risk. Based on the results of the pre-DPIA, it was concluded that carrying out a full Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) is not necessary. With this, the municipality complies with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the consideration has been carefully recorded and documented.

Impact assessment

Pre DPIA

Operations

Data

All information standing at www.arnhem.nl

Technical design

DeepL Pro is an advanced machine translation service that uses artificial neural networks (AI) to translate texts, such as the information onwww.arnhem.nl, into other languages.

Step-by-step operation:

1. Input of text

• The original text from www.arnhem.nl is offered as input to DeepL Pro, for example via the web interface, an API link or document upload.

2. Pre-processing

• DeepL Pro analyses the text and splits it into sentences and meaningful segments. In the process, context and grammatical structures are recognised to increase translation quality

3. Translation by neural networks

• DeepL uses specially trained neural networks based on the Transformer architecture with proprietary optimisations. Trained on millions of sample translations, these networks can generate context-sensitive, natural translations. The networks use so-called attention mechanisms to determine which parts of the source sentence are most important for a correct translation. DeepL is distinguished by efficient use of training data and optimisation of network architecture, which often results in more accurate translations.

4. Post-processing

• After translation, the text is checked for consistency, grammar and style. DeepL Pro also offers options such as choosing formal or informal tone, and using customised glossaries.

5. Output

• The translated text is delivered back to the user, e.g. as stand-alone text. When using the API, the translation can be integrated directly into a website or application.

6. Security and privacy

• DeepL Pro guarantees maximum data security: translated texts and documents are not used for training purposes and are deleted after processing, ensuring confidentiality

Summary:

DeepL Pro translates texts from www.arnhem.nl using an optimised neural network (AI) trained on millions of sample translations. The service processes the input text, analyses the context, generates a translation based on advanced AI models and delivers the translated text back to the user. The whole process takes place within a secure environment where data privacy and confidentiality are guaranteed

External provider

DeepL SE (Deep L Pro)