Online safety & content laws in Romania (2026)

Legal framework

EU Digital Services Act (Regulation 2022/2065) directly applicable since 17 February 2024; national implementation via Romania Law No. 50/2024 (Official Journal No. 232, 19 March 2024); Digital Services Coordinator: ANCOM (National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications)

The Digital Services Act in Romania

In Romania, online platforms and intermediaries are governed by the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), a directly-applicable regulation covering illegal content, transparency and user protection.

Framework

the EU Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065)

Approach

notice-and-action on illegal content, transparency reporting, clear terms, and protection of minors

Applies to

online intermediaries, hosting services and platforms offering services to users in Romania, wherever established

Very large platforms

platforms and search engines with 45M+ EU users face extra systemic-risk audits, overseen by the European Commission

Maximum fine

up to 6% of global annual turnover

Oversight

the national Digital Services Coordinator, plus the European Commission for very large platforms

The DSA is an EU regulation applied directly in Romania; the national Digital Services Coordinator handles day-to-day supervision.

Key points: internet & online safety in Romania

1. 01EU DSA direct applicability

   EU Regulation 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act) applies directly in Romania to all categories of intermediary services as of 17 February 2024, imposing notice-and-action mechanisms, transparency reporting, and systemic-risk assessments for very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs).

   eur-lex.europa.eu ancom.ro

2. 02Law No. 50/2024, national DSA implementation

   Published in the Official Journal on 19 March 2024 and in force from 22 March 2024, Law 50/2024 designates ANCOM as the sole Digital Services Coordinator, establishes a provider-registration obligation (45-day notification to ANCOM), introduces a national sanctioning regime for DSA non-compliance, and authorises a supervisory fee on Romanian-established intermediary services providers from 1 January 2027.

   legislatie.just.ro digitalpolicyalert.org ancom.ro

3. 03ANCOM as Digital Services Coordinator

   ANCOM holds exclusive national competence to supervise and enforce the DSA for intermediary services established in Romania, acts as single point of contact to the European Commission and peer DSCs, and sits on the European Digital Services Board. ANCOM published its first DSA Annual Report covering 2024 activities.

   ancom.ro ancom.ro

4. 04Digital Age of Majority Law (pending adoption)

   Romania's Senate approved the 'Legea Majoratului Online' (L190/2025) on 6 October 2025; it now awaits final vote by the Chamber of Deputies. The law sets 'digital majority' at 16, requires verifiable parental consent for under-16s to access most online services, mandates age-appropriate design and content labelling, bans profiling-based advertising to minors, and authorises ANCOM to impose fines of 0.1-0.4% of annual turnover and, after five infringements, to suspend a provider's operations in Romania.

   digitalpolicyalert.org bmalegal.ro cms.law

5. 05Draft harmful-content law, stricter VLOP rules (proposed)

   A separate draft law proposed in early 2025 targets VLOPs and would go beyond the DSA by requiring removal of illegal content within 15 minutes of publication, capping the spread of 'potentially harmful content' to 150 users, and imposing a 1% turnover fine where state-validated user reports exceed 30% of flagged content on a given platform. As of May 2026 this bill remains a legislative proposal.

   cms-lawnow.com tpa-group.ro

6. 06DSA enforcement challenges

   Civil-society analysis by Expert Forum (2024) identified systemic gaps in Romania's early DSA enforcement, including limited investigative capacity at ANCOM and slow follow-through on systemic-risk oversight of VLOPs. These concerns have informed the subsequent push for stricter national supplementary legislation.

   expertforum.ro expertforum.ro

The Digital Services Act in Romania: FAQ

Sources

1. 1.eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R2065
2. 2.legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/280106
3. 3.ancom.ro/en/print/digital-services_7084
4. 4.ancom.ro/en/print/the-law-on-digital-services-has-been-published-in-the-offici
5. 5.ancom.ro/en/uploads/links_files/DSA_annual_report_2024_en.pdf
6. 6.digitalpolicyalert.org/event/20131-implemented-bill-to-implement-the-digital-services-act-la
7. 7.digitalpolicyalert.org/change/17403-age-verification-requirement-in-digital-age-of-majority-
8. 8.bmalegal.ro/romanias-online-age-of-majority-law/
9. 9.cms.law/en/rou/legal-updates/romania-approves-draft-law-creating-stricter-rul
10. 10.cms-lawnow.com/en/ealerts/2025/03/romania-proposes-stricter-rules-against-harmful-co
11. 11.expertforum.ro/en/systemic-loopholes-the-digital-services-acts-slow-start-in-romania
12. 12.tpa-group.ro/news/draft-law-on-limiting-the-propagation-via-very-large-online-plat
13. 13.expertforum.ro/en/2024-romanias-struggle-with-systemic-risks-in-digital-services-act