Online safety & content laws in Montenegro (2026)
Online safety rules in Montenegro: partial.
Montenegro regulates online content through sectoral media legislation rather than a single comprehensive online-safety statute. The June 2024 media package (Media Law and Audiovisual Media Services Law, both 54/24) transposed the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2018/1808), covering video-sharing platforms, introduced hate-speech removal duties, and added sanctions against unregistered online media; horizontal platform rules (DSA/DMA, age verification) are still being aligned for EU accession and are not yet in force.
Legal framework
Sectoral regime: Law on Audiovisual Media Services (54/24) and Media Law (54/24), enforced by the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services (AMU); EU Digital Services Act/Digital Markets Act alignment pending as part of accession but not yet transposed.
Key points: internet & online safety in Montenegro
AVMS law transposes EU directive
The 2024 Law on Audiovisual Media Services (Official Gazette 54/24) harmonised national law with EU Directive 2018/1808, which extends regulation to video-sharing platforms; the regulator was renamed the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services (AMU), an independent body with a five-member Council.
Hate-speech removal & online-media rules
The new Media Law (54/24, in force 19 June 2024) obliges media to remove hate speech and other problematic content in line with international practice and introduced sanctions to curb unregistered online media outlets.
EU DSA/DMA alignment pending, not transposed
As an EU candidate, Montenegro is required to align with the Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, NIS2 and GDPR; Chapter 10 (information society and media) was provisionally closed in December 2024 with Montenegro assessed as broadly aligned on information-society services, but DSA-style horizontal platform-liability rules are not yet in domestic force.
No dedicated age-verification regime
Montenegro has no national online age-verification or minor-protection statute equivalent to recent EU/UK measures; such obligations would arrive via DSA transposition (the European Commission's July 2025 DSA minors guidelines and 2026 EU age-verification app being the reference framework).
Internet broadly free but enforcement inconsistent
The constitution guarantees free expression and Montenegro is not a censorship state, but authorities apply criminal/misdemeanour provisions on hate-incitement and security threats to social-media posts inconsistently, 637 reported social-media offences (546 misdemeanour, 91 criminal) between 2020 and May 2025, leaving limits on online speech unclear.
Limited platform transparency for Montenegro
Reviews found no evidence of systematic state-driven content takedowns, but very large online platforms provide little Montenegro-specific transparency data, and the 2025 EU and rule-of-law assessments flag continuing pressures on media freedom alongside the reform process.
Sources
- amu.me/en/about-agency/
- natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=116884
- montenegro.mom-gmr.org/en/context/law/
- enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/9ae69ea7-81d6-4d6a-a204-bd32a379d51d_en
- enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-and-montenegro-provisionally-close-another-five-chapters-acce
- commission.europa.eu/document/download/4e4b66a5-a08e-4261-a33c-ba083c4d1c08_en
- digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/commission-publishes-guidelines-protection-minors
- balkaninsight.com/2025/11/10/in-montenegro-the-limits-of-free-speech-online-are-unclear
- cmpf.eui.eu/country/montenegro/
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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