Internet & Online Safety · Bermuda
Online safety & content laws in Bermuda (2026)
Bermuda shaded by its internet & online safety status
Bermuda has no comprehensive online-safety or platform content-moderation regime comparable to the EU Digital Services Act or UK Online Safety Act, and no statutory age-verification or intermediary-liability rules for user-generated content. Instead, online harms are addressed piecemeal through telecommunications-harassment provisions, Criminal Code offences protecting children online, data-protection law (PIPA, principal provisions in force 1 January 2025), and recently enacted cybercrime statutes. The government has signalled further amendments to strengthen cybercrime enforcement, but the overall position remains partial rather than a unified online-safety framework.
Key points
Bermuda has not enacted a dedicated online-safety or content-moderation regime equivalent to the EU DSA or UK Online Safety Act; there is no online-safety regulator, no statutory platform 'duty of care', and no general intermediary-liability framework for user-generated content.
The Electronic Communications Act 2011 provides protections against harassment carried out over telecommunications lines (commonly described as covering cyberbullying); the Act otherwise regulates electronic voice/data/audio-visual communications services overseen by the Regulatory Authority.
The Criminal Code contains offences protecting children from online predators and abuse, forming the principal statutory basis for combating online child sexual exploitation in Bermuda.
The Personal Information Protection Act 2016, a GDPR-influenced regime, had its principal provisions come into force on 1 January 2025 and governs how organisations (including online services) process personal data, with the Privacy Commissioner as enforcer and penalties up to US$25,000 or two years' imprisonment.
The Cybersecurity Act 2024 (passed 31 May 2024, assented 24 June 2024) protects 'critical national information infrastructure' and establishes a Cybersecurity Advisory Board and National Cybersecurity Unit; the Computer Misuse Act 2024 (passed 17 May 2024) criminalises unauthorised computer access. These target cybercrime/security, not online content moderation.
There is no statutory social-media age-verification or age-assurance regime in Bermuda; the government has indicated further amendments to the Electronic Communications Act and Criminal Code to strengthen cybercrime investigation and prosecution, but no comprehensive online-safety bill has been identified.
Timeline - major decisions & events
PIPA's substantive provisions took effect, giving individuals control over personal data and imposing security/breach obligations on all organisations using personal information in Bermuda, including online platforms. It is now the backbone of Bermuda's data and online-privacy framework.
Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Bermuda ↗Passed by the Legislature on 31 May 2024 and assented on 24 June 2024, the Act sets operational cyber-security standards across critical infrastructure and essential services, a direct response to the 2023 government cyberattack.
Government of Bermuda Official Gazette ↗The new Act repeals and replaces the Computer Misuse Act 1996, modernising cybercrime offences and sharply increasing penalties, and is the first step toward Bermuda meeting the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime.
The Royal Gazette ↗A ransomware-style attack (attributed to likely Russian threat actors, consistent with ALPHV) knocked out government email, phone and internet services for weeks. It exposed gaps in national cyber resilience and directly drove the 2024 cyber-law overhaul.
The Royal Gazette ↗Bermuda enacted its first comprehensive, GDPR-style data protection statute, establishing the legal regime governing how organisations and online services collect, use and safeguard personal information.
Government of Bermuda ↗Created a unified framework for electronic communications and licensed operators, including protections against harassment over telecommunications lines (cyberbullying) and powers over electronic marketing.
Bermuda Laws (Government of Bermuda) ↗A Ministerial standard issued under the Electronic Transactions Act for intermediaries and e-commerce service providers came into force, operationalising Bermuda's early EU-style data protection principles for online services.
Cybertips Bermuda (Government of Bermuda) ↗Bermuda - other topics
Last verified 5/23/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →