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Online safety & content laws in Bermuda (2026)

Online safety rules in Bermuda: partial.

Bermuda has no comprehensive online safety or platform-liability regime. Instead, online harms are addressed through a patchwork of criminal-law, telecommunications and data-protection provisions — most notably the Electronic Communications Act 2011, which criminalises grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing messages sent via public electronic communications services, and Criminal Code offences targeting online luring/exploitation of minors. There is no general statutory duty of care for platforms and no mandatory age-verification regime for user-to-user or pornography services.

Last verified Official sources first · MethodologyCompare Bermuda with other countries

Legal framework

Patchwork of sectoral laws: Electronic Communications Act 2011 (offensive/harassing messages), Criminal Code (child exploitation/luring, as amended by the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2020), Personal Information Protection Act 2016 (PIPA, fully in force 1 Jan 2025) for children's data, and the Cybersecurity Act 2024 for critical-infrastructure cyber security. No dedicated online-safety/platform-liability statute akin to the UK OSA or EU DSA.

Key points: internet & online safety in Bermuda

  1. No dedicated online-safety act

    Bermuda has not enacted an equivalent to the UK Online Safety Act 2023 or the EU Digital Services Act. Cyber-focused legislative activity in 2024–2025 has centred on cybersecurity of critical infrastructure (Cybersecurity Act 2024) and data protection (PIPA), not on platform content-moderation duties.

    lexology.com applebyglobal.com

  2. Cyberbullying / harassing communications

    Under the Electronic Communications Act 2011, sending a message via a public electronic communications service that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character — or sending false messages to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety — is an offence punishable by up to one year's imprisonment and/or a fine of $25,000.

    bermudalaws.bm cybertips.bm

  3. Child online protection via Criminal Code

    The Criminal Code (as amended, including by the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2020) criminalises online 'luring' — using electronic communications to facilitate later sexual activity with a child under 16 — and strengthens safeguards against sexual offences by persons in a position of trust for those under 18. There is no separate online-child-safety code imposing systemic duties on platforms.

    gov.bm cybertips.bm

  4. Children's data (PIPA)

    The Personal Information Protection Act 2016 came fully into force on 1 January 2025. It contains specific rules for handling personal information of children (defined as under 14) but does not impose age-assurance/age-verification duties on online services generally.

    walkersglobal.com lexology.com

  5. No specific platform-liability / safe-harbour regime

    Bermuda law does not codify a Section 230-style intermediary immunity, nor DSA-style notice-and-action duties. Platforms are exposed to general criminal and civil liability principles; there is no local regulator empowered to fine social-media or user-to-user services for failing to remove harmful content.

    mondaq.com bermudalaws.bm

  6. Cybersecurity Act 2024 – operational, not content-focused

    The Cybersecurity Act 2024 introduces operational cyber-security standards for critical infrastructure and essential services and is overseen alongside sector regulators (e.g. the Bermuda Monetary Authority for financial services). It does not regulate online content, moderation duties, or platform liability.

    parliament.bm applebyglobal.com

Timeline of decisions

  1. Law · official
    Electronic Communications Act 2011 enacted

    Created a unified framework for electronic communications and licensed operators, including protections against harassment over telecommunications lines (cyberbullying) and powers over electronic marketing.

    Bermuda Laws (Government of Bermuda)

Sources

  1. bermudalaws.bm/Laws/Consolidated%20Law/2011/Electronic%20Communications%20Act%202011
  2. cybertips.bm/index.php/about/legislation
  3. cybertips.bm/index.php/faqs/104-cybersecurity-legislation-offences/18-is-cyberbull
  4. gov.bm/articles/criminal-code-amendment-act-2020
  5. walkersglobal.com/en/Insights/2025/01/Guide-to-Bermuda-Privacy-Law
  6. lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=9dddfea1-5296-49fb-a33b-31f3c1b33ed6
  7. lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=21809ee6-ceec-4b4b-9596-9fbb20c922f3
  8. applebyglobal.com/publications/cyber-it-security-law-and-regulation-guide-2025-bermuda/
  9. parliament.bm/admin/uploads/bill/5771f5da86b521a9845666812ee4e861.pdf
  10. mondaq.com/security/1538274/cyber-it-security-law-and-regulation-guide-2025-berm
  11. applebyglobal.com/publications/bermudas-cybersecurity-law-transformation-is-well-underw

Next for Bermuda: CybersecuritySectoral rules

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Orientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 11 Aug 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026