Online safety & content laws in Costa Rica (2026)
Online safety rules in Costa Rica: partial.
Costa Rica currently operates under sector-specific rules, a 2011 data-protection law, cybercrime statutes, and consumer-protection provisions, rather than a comprehensive online-safety regime. In April 2026 the Legislative Assembly approved a DSA-inspired Digital Services and E-Commerce Governance Law (23,184) in its second (final) debate, which will enter into force 12 months after publication in the Official Gazette; a separate bill (25,336) to ban children under 14 from social media is advancing in committee. Freedom House scored the country 86/100 in its 2025 Freedom on the Net report, placing it among the world's most open online environments with no government censorship or blocking.
Legal framework
Digital Services and E-Commerce Governance Law (Law 23,184, approved April 2026, not yet in force); Data Protection Law No. 8968 (2011); Cybercrime Law; SUTEL (telecom regulator) and MICITT (Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications)
Key points: internet & online safety in Costa Rica
Internet freedom benchmark
Freedom House rated Costa Rica 86/100 in Freedom on the Net 2025, ranking it the top country for internet freedom in Latin America and among the top four globally. No government-imposed website blocks or connectivity restrictions have been recorded.
DSA-inspired digital services law enacted (pending entry into force)
Draft Law 23,184, modelled closely on the EU Digital Services Act, was approved by the Legislative Assembly in its second and final debate on 16 April 2026. It requires hosting providers, search engines and online platforms to implement illegal-content reporting mechanisms, bans dark patterns, and mandates transparency obligations; it covers any provider offering digital services in the Costa Rican market. It enters into force 12 months after publication in La Gaceta.
Children's social-media ban bill (proposed)
Bill 25,336, advanced unanimously by the Legislative Assembly's Youth, Children and Adolescents Committee in April 2026, would prohibit children under 14 from creating or using social-media accounts. SUTEL would enforce compliance with fines of 15-50 base salaries, rising to 30-50 for repeat violations; platforms could also face operational restrictions and mandatory remediation plans.
Minors online-safety bill (criminal law)
Bill 24,063, also active in the legislature, would introduce criminal offences of electronic sexual harassment of minors, sexual disturbance and sexual extortion specifically targeting online conduct, extending protections for children against digital exploitation.
Data-protection baseline (Law 8968)
The 2011 Law on the Protection of Individuals Against the Processing of Their Personal Data (Law No. 8968), regulated by Executive Decree 37554-JP, is the primary horizontal privacy instrument and applies to online data processing. The PRODHAB agency supervises enforcement. Three reform bills were active as of early 2026, including regulation of biometric-data consent.
Electoral-content and platform-liability proposals
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal proposed reforms to the electoral code that would prohibit anonymous/inauthentic accounts for campaign propaganda, require platforms to designate a legal representative in Costa Rica, and empower the TSE to order removal of electoral misinformation during campaign periods. These proposals had not been enacted as of May 2026.
Timeline of decisions
- LawLegislature Advances Bill to Ban Social Media for Children Under 14
The Costa Rican legislature advanced a bill prohibiting children under 14 from accessing mainstream social platforms and requiring platforms to disable addictive design features (infinite scroll, autoplay, dark patterns) for all users under 18. SUTEL would oversee enforcement with fines of 15–50 base salaries for non-compliant platforms.
Tico Times
- Law · officialLaw 8934: Protection of Minors from Harmful Internet and Electronic Content
Law 8934 required operators of public internet access facilities to install content-filtering software blocking pornography, drug content, and other material harmful to children and adolescents, with SUTEL assigned oversight responsibilities. It became the foundational child-safety internet law and a direct precursor to later social-media regulation proposals.
SUTEL – Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones
- Decision · officialSala IV Constitutional Court Ruling: Internet Access Is a Fundamental Right
In ruling 2010-012790, Costa Rica's Constitutional Chamber declared internet access a constitutionally protected fundamental right, holding that the State must promote and guarantee universal ICT access as essential to free expression, education, and democratic participation. It was the first such ruling in Latin America and legally obligated the government to expand connectivity.
Poder Judicial – Sala Constitucional
Sources
- freedomhouse.org/country/costa-rica/freedom-net/2025
- freedomhouse.org/country/costa-rica/freedom-net/2024
- latincounsel.com/?Noticias=Costa_Rica_Establishes_New_Regulatory_Framework_for_Digital
- lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=14f12440-b0a4-45c6-bd0d-9b63840e59a6
- ticotimes.net/2026/04/15/costa-rica-advances-bill-to-ban-social-media-for-children-
- qcostarica.com/minors-in-costa-rica-would-not-be-allowed-to-have-social-media-accoun
- dataguidance.com/notes/costa-rica-data-protection-overview
- dlapiperdataprotection.com/index.html?t=law&c=CR
Next for Costa Rica: CybersecurityProposed
Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026