Online safety & content laws in Norway (2026)

Legal framework

Proposed Act on Digital Services ('lov om digitale tjenester') implementing the EU Digital Services Act into Norwegian/EEA law, plus a separate proposed social-media age-limit bill; Nkom designated as national coordinator. Existing partial rules: e-Commerce Act intermediary liability and the Media Liability Act (medieansvarsloven).

Key points: internet & online safety in Norway

1. 01DSA transposition (proposed)

   The Ministry of Digitalisation circulated a draft Act on Digital Services for consultation (deadline 1 October 2025) incorporating the DSA largely as-is, with supplementary obligations such as a duty on hosting providers to report suspected criminal content to police; the Government aims for it to apply from summer 2026.

   datatilsynet.no twobirds.com

2. 02Competent authorities

   Nkom (Norwegian Communications Authority) is to be the national Digital Services Coordinator, with the Norwegian Media Authority (Medietilsynet), the Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet) and the Consumer Council assigned competence in their respective fields.

   nkom.no datatilsynet.no

3. 03Social-media age limit (proposed)

   The Government will present a bill setting an absolute age limit for social media, with access permitted from 1 January of the year a child turns 16; it follows a public-consultation proposal (originally age 15) and targets platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and Facebook.

   regjeringen.no regjeringen.no

4. 04Age-verification duty on platforms

   Under the proposal, technology companies (not users) bear responsibility for verifying users' age at login; the Government is also raising the GDPR age of consent for information-society services to 15. EEA notification is planned before summer 2026 and rules are not expected to take effect before 2027.

   regjeringen.no regjeringen.no

5. 05Content-moderation safeguards in draft law

   The proposed Act on Digital Services adds mechanisms to make reporting illegal content easier, restrict manipulative 'dark pattern' design, and ban targeted advertising directed at children and young people, mirroring DSA obligations scaled to platform size (including VLOPs).

   nkom.no datatilsynet.no

6. 06Existing partial framework (in force)

   Pending the DSA Act, online intermediaries are subject to the limited-liability rules of Norway's e-Commerce Act (implementing the EU e-Commerce Directive), while editorial/publisher responsibility for online media is governed by the Media Liability Act (medieansvarsloven), in force since 1 July 2020.

   medietilsynet.no medietilsynet.no

Timeline of decisions

1. 24 Apr 2026Law · official
   Government Announces Bill to Ban Social Media for Under-16s

   After a public consultation on an initial 15-year threshold drew over 8,000 submissions, the Norwegian Government announced it will present a bill to Parliament setting the minimum social media age at 16 (aligning with Australia). Platforms will be responsible for age verification at login; exceptions apply for school-related and communication services.

   Norwegian Government (regjeringen.no)

2. 2 Jul 2025Law
   Draft DSA Implementing Law Sent for Public Consultation

   Norway's Ministry of Digitalisation circulated a draft law incorporating the EU Digital Services Act into Norwegian law, with Nkom proposed as competent authority and coordinator for digital services. The consultation deadline was October 1, 2025, with DSA obligations expected to apply from summer 2026.

   DataGuidance / regjeringen.no

3. 1 Jun 2025Law · official
   Government Proposes 15-Year Social Media Age Limit, Public Consultation Launched

   The Norwegian Government sent a draft law for consultation proposing an absolute minimum age of 15 for access to social media platforms, also raising the GDPR consent age to 15. This was Norway's first legislative step to restrict children's access to social media and generated over 8,000 public responses.

   Norwegian Government (regjeringen.no)

4. 17 Oct 2022Decision
   Supreme Court: Online Hate Speech Provision Affords Greater Protection to Minors

   The Norwegian Supreme Court ruled that section 185 of the Penal Code provides stronger protection to minors than adults in online contexts, establishing that the same online statement can carry heavier criminal weight when directed at children, a landmark ruling defining the scope of online speech regulation.

   Library of Congress Global Legal Monitor / Høyesterett

5. 31 Jan 2020Decision · official
   Supreme Court Rules Hate Speech in Closed Facebook Groups Is Punishable (HR-2020-184-A / HR-2020-185-A)

   In twin landmark rulings, Norway's Supreme Court upheld criminal convictions under Penal Code section 185 for racist and anti-Muslim comments posted in a 'closed' Facebook group of ~15,000 members, confirming for the first time that ostensibly private social-media spaces constitute 'public' utterance under Norwegian criminal law.

   Norges Domstoler (Norwegian Courts)

6. 1 Oct 2015Law
   New Penal Code Enters Force, Extending Hate Speech Prohibition to Online Content

   Norway's new Penal Code (originally adopted 2005) entered full force with section 185 replacing the old section 135a, formally applying hate speech criminal liability to online utterances. A 2012 Ministry of Justice proposal to classify the internet as 'public space' had informed the legislative drafting.

   Library of Congress Global Legal Monitor

7. 1 Jan 2015Enforcement
   First Court-Ordered ISP Blocking of Piracy Sites Implemented

   Following Copyright Act amendments enabling rightsholder-initiated court injunctions, Norwegian ISPs began executing DNS-based blocks on piracy sites including The Pirate Bay, Norway's first judicially mandated regime of online content restriction, subsequently expanded to dozens of streaming and torrent portals.

   Hollywood Reporter

Sources

1. 1.datatilsynet.no/aktuelt/aktuelle-nyheter-2025/ny-lov-om-digitale-tjenester-sendt-pa-h
2. 2.nkom.no/aktuelt/nkom-far-hovedansvar-for-nye-lover-om-digitale-tjenester-og-k
3. 3.nkom.no/internett/digital-service-act-dsa/hva-er-dsa
4. 4.regjeringen.no/en/whats-new/norwegian-social-media-age-restrictions-law-on-track-to-
5. 5.regjeringen.no/en/whats-new/norway-moves-forward-with-age-limit-for-social-media/id3
6. 6.twobirds.com/en/trending-topics/digital-services-act-tracker-and-uk-online-safety-
7. 7.medietilsynet.no/regelverk/internasjonale-reguleringer-for-digitale-tjenester/dsa/
8. 8.medietilsynet.no/en/about-medietilsynet/legislation/