Online safety & content laws in Argentina (2026)

Legal framework

No dedicated omnibus online-safety statute; regulation is a patchwork combining Supreme Court intermediary-liability doctrine (Rodríguez v. Google, 2014), the 'Mica Ortega' Law 27,590 on grooming (2020, reg. Decree 407/2022), 'Ley Olimpia' Law 27,736 on digital gender-based violence (2023), the grooming criminal offense in Art. 131 Penal Code (Law 26,904), Personal Data Protection Law 25,326, and sector oversight by ENACOM. Several comprehensive online-safety/age-verification bills are pending in Congress.

Key points: internet & online safety in Argentina

1. 01No omnibus online-safety law

   Argentina currently lacks a horizontal statute regulating platform content moderation, systemic risk, or duties of care. Content and safety rules are dispersed across the Constitution's free-speech protections, the Civil and Commercial Code, criminal law, and sectoral statutes; regulatory proposals for a general framework remain in Congress.

   iclg.com freedomhouse.org

2. 02Intermediary-liability doctrine (Rodríguez, 2014)

   The Supreme Court held in María Belén Rodríguez c/ Google that search engines and hosts are not objectively liable for third-party content; they incur subjective liability only if, after 'actual knowledge' of clearly illicit content, they fail to act diligently. For content whose illegality is not manifest, a competent judicial or administrative order is required before takedown.

   wilmap.stanford.edu justiceinitiative.org

3. 03Child online safety – Mica Ortega Law 27,590

   Law 27,590 (2020), regulated by Decree 407/2022, creates a National Program for Prevention and Awareness of Grooming/Cyberbullying against children and adolescents, requiring providers of internet-connected devices and interactive platforms to display safety messages and mandating school programs. Grooming itself is criminalized under Article 131 of the Penal Code (Law 26,904).

   argentina.gob.ar boletinoficial.gob.ar enacom.gob.ar

4. 04Digital gender-based violence – Ley Olimpia (Law 27,736)

   Promulgated in October 2023, Ley Olimpia amends Law 26,485 to add 'digital violence' as a modality of gender-based violence, covering non-consensual intimate images, online harassment, sextortion, doxxing, and misogynistic hate speech in digital environments, and imposes prevention/education duties on the state.

   argentina.gob.ar observatoriolegislativocele.com

5. 05Pending age-verification and platform bills

   Bill 7340-D-2025 (introduced Feb 2026) proposes a 'preventive mental health regime in digital environments' with proportional age verification, parental-consent mechanisms, and fines up to 30% of monthly turnover for large platforms. Other pending 2024 bills would require takedowns on judicial order (July 2024), protect 'digital identity' against NCII/impersonation, and regulate influencers—none are yet in force.

   digitalpolicyalert.org digitalpolicyalert.org digitalpolicyalert.org

6. 06Free-expression environment and oversight

   Freedom House rates Argentina 'partly free' on the internet (score dropping from 74 to 71 in 2025), citing robust legal protection for online expression but growing harassment of journalists and creation in July 2024 of the Artificial Intelligence Unit Applied to Security (UIAAS) enabling social-media monitoring. ENACOM regulates telecoms and audiovisual services under Law 27,078 and the outdated Audiovisual Communication Services Law 26,522, but has no dedicated jurisdiction over social-media content.

   freedomhouse.org iclg.com

Timeline of decisions

1. 23 Oct 2023Law · official
   'Ley Olimpia' (Law 27.736) makes digital violence a form of gender violence

   Amending Law 26.485, the statute defines digital/telematic violence, including non-consensual sharing of intimate images and online harassment, and empowers judges to order platforms to remove offending content. A landmark for online safety of women.

   Boletín Oficial

2. 28 Oct 2014Decision · official
   Supreme Court ruling in 'Rodríguez, María Belén c/ Google'

   The CSJN set the leading precedent on search-engine liability: intermediaries are not strictly liable for third-party content and must remove material only after specific, precise notice (judicial for honor-related cases; direct notice for manifestly illegal content like child abuse imagery). Defined the balance between free expression online and personal rights.

   SAIJ (Min. Justicia)

3. 13 Nov 2013Law · official
   Grooming criminalized (Law 26.904, new Art. 131 Penal Code)

   Argentina made it a crime to contact a minor via electronic communications with intent to commit an offense against their sexual integrity, with penalties of six months to four years. A core online child-safety provision.

   argentina.gob.ar

4. 18 May 2005Law · official
   Internet Service Law (26.032) extends free-expression protection online

   The law declared that searching, receiving and disseminating information and ideas via the Internet falls within the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression, barring prior censorship online, a foundational principle for Argentine internet regulation.

   argentina.gob.ar

Sources

1. 1.iclg.com/practice-areas/telecoms-media-and-internet-laws-and-regulations/argen
2. 2.freedomhouse.org/country/argentina/freedom-net/2025
3. 3.wilmap.stanford.edu/entries/m-belen-rodriguez-cgoogle-y-otro-s-danos-y-perjuicios
4. 4.justiceinitiative.org/litigation/rodr-guez-v-google-and-another
5. 5.argentina.gob.ar/capital-humano/familia/ninez-y-adolescencia/grooming/conoce-la-ley-mi
6. 6.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/238576/20201216
7. 7.enacom.gob.ar/multimedia/normativas/2022/Decreto%20407_22.pdf
8. 8.argentina.gob.ar/noticias/ley-olimpia-el-gobierno-promulgo-la-legislacion-que-incorpor
9. 9.observatoriolegislativocele.com/argentina-ley-olimpia-modificaciones-a-la-ley-26-485-violencia-digita
10. 10.digitalpolicyalert.org/event/38063-bill-on-preventive-mental-health-regime-in-digital-enviro
11. 11.digitalpolicyalert.org/change/12620-age-verification-rights-in-bill-on-safe-digital-environm
12. 12.digitalpolicyalert.org/digest/dpa-digital-digest-argentina