Online safety & content laws in Gibraltar (2026)

Legal framework

Patchwork: Electronic Commerce Act 2001 (intermediary/hosting liability, transposing the EU e-Commerce Directive), Communications Act 2006 (Gibraltar Regulatory Authority as sector regulator), Broadcasting Act 2012 (transposing the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, incl. On-Demand AVMS Code) and the Gibraltar GDPR / Data Protection Act 2004. No dedicated online-safety / content-moderation statute equivalent to the UK Online Safety Act 2023 or the EU Digital Services Act.

Key points: internet & online safety in Gibraltar

1. 01Intermediary/hosting liability

   The Electronic Commerce Act 2001 transposes the EU e-Commerce Directive into Gibraltar law, giving hosts, caches and mere conduits a conditional liability exemption: a host is not liable for stored user content where it lacks actual knowledge of illegality and acts expeditiously to remove or disable access once notified.

   gibraltarlaws.gov.gi lexology.com

2. 02Sector regulator (GRA)

   The Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, constituted under the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority Act 2000 and empowered by the Communications Act 2006, regulates electronic communications, spectrum and broadcasting, and is tasked with promoting media literacy and public awareness of material published on electronic media.

   gra.gi gibraltarlaws.gov.gi

3. 03Audiovisual / on-demand content code

   The Broadcasting Act 2012 transposed the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive; the GRA issues codes of practice including an On-Demand Audiovisual Media Services Code and a Code for Broadcasters covering standards, protection of minors, impartiality and election/referendum content.

   gra.gi gbc.gi

4. 04Data-protection overlay

   Following Brexit, the GDPR was domesticated as the 'Gibraltar GDPR' alongside the Data Protection Act 2004, and cookies/e-privacy rules sit in the Communications (Personal Data and Privacy) Regulations 2006 — the primary vehicle for restraining platform data-processing practices in the absence of a bespoke online-safety law.

   gra.gi dlapiperdataprotection.com

5. 05No dedicated online-safety statute

   Gibraltar has not enacted a UK Online Safety Act-style duty of care or an EU Digital Services Act-equivalent regime; there is no Gibraltar-specific statutory age-verification requirement for pornography or user-to-user platforms, and the UK OSA does not extend to Gibraltar (Gibraltar is outside both the EU and the OSA's territorial scope).

   gibraltarlaws.gov.gi en.wikipedia.org

6. 06Cybercrime and unlawful content

   Substantive unlawful online content is addressed via general criminal law (e.g. Crimes Act 2011 offences covering indecent images, harassment, malicious communications) and the Gibraltar cybercrime framework, rather than a platform-focused takedown regime.

   lexology.com gibraltarlaws.gov.gi

Timeline of decisions

1. 14 Aug 2025Law · official
   Broadcasting (Amendment) Act 2025 enacted

   Gibraltar's Parliament amended the Broadcasting Act 2012, updating the regulatory framework for licensed media service providers (radio, TV and on-demand) overseen by the GRA. Reflects ongoing modernisation of broadcast/online-content oversight.

   Parliament of Gibraltar

2. 16 Jul 2024Guidance · official
   GRA publishes 'Media Literacy Matters' survey report

   The Gibraltar Regulatory Authority released findings from a 6,240-respondent survey showing nearly 40% of adults felt unable to spot online misinformation and that 78% of children aged 10-17 spend 3+ hours daily on social media, shaping its media-literacy and online-harms work.

   Gibraltar Regulatory Authority

3. 27 Jul 2023Law · official
   Online Safety Act comes into operation; GRA media-literacy duty commences

   The Crimes and Communications (Online Safety) Act took effect and the GRA's statutory responsibility to promote media literacy and public awareness of online content risks formally commenced on 27 July 2023.

   Gibraltar Regulatory Authority

4. 19 Jul 2023Law · official
   Parliament passes Crimes and Communications (Online Safety) Act 2023

   Parliament approved new criminal offences targeting online harms (including in social-media spaces) and aligned extreme-pornography law with the UK, while imposing a new media-literacy duty on the GRA, Gibraltar's first dedicated online-safety statute.

   HM Government of Gibraltar

5. 31 Mar 2023Law · official
   Government publishes Online Safety Bill

   Following stakeholder consultation including the GRA, the Justice Minister published the Online Safety Bill to create specific offences for serious online acts and strengthen protection of the public from online harms.

   HM Government of Gibraltar

6. 28 Sept 2012Law
   Broadcasting Act 2012 replaces the GBC Act

   Parliament passed the Broadcasting Act 2012, giving the GRA powers to license and regulate media service providers, including on-demand services, and to set broadcasting standards, codes of practice and promote media literacy.

   GBC

7. 1 Jan 2001Law · official
   Electronic Commerce Act 2001 enacted

   Transposed the EU E-Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC) into Gibraltar law, setting rules for information-society services and intermediary liability, the foundational legal basis for regulating online services.

   Laws of Gibraltar

Sources

1. 1.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/
2. 2.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/legislations/communications-act-2006-1472
3. 3.gra.gi/about-us
4. 4.gra.gi/broadcasting
5. 5.gra.gi/broadcasting/documents/codes-of-practice/on-demand-avms-code
6. 6.gra.gi/data-protection
7. 7.gbc.gi/news/gibraltar-regulatory-authority-publishes-new-code-broadcasters-1
8. 8.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=825c5d4b-d891-438a-b83e-6d90cb26b620
9. 9.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=9fea5eea-5e35-4101-b64c-e5ab72878c6f
10. 10.dlapiperdataprotection.com/index.html?c=GI&t=law
11. 11.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltar_Regulatory_Authority
12. 12.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/legislations
13. 13.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_Safety_Act_2023