Internet & Online Safety · Denmark
Online safety & content laws in Denmark (2026)
Denmark shaded by its internet & online safety status
Online safety rules in Denmark: comprehensive law.
FrameworkEU Digital Services Act (DSA) — nationally enforced via the Danish Act on the enforcement of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (signed 28 Dec 2023, in force 17 Feb 2024). Danish Agency for Digital Government (Digitaliseringsstyrelsen) is the Digital Services Coordinator (DSC). Complemented by NIS2 (Danish NIS2 Act, in force 1 July 2025), a Copyright Act amendment targeting deepfakes (2025), and a national social-media age limit of 15 (political agreement Nov 2025; implementation via DSA Art. 28 age-assurance and the Danish digital identity wallet).
Denmark regulates online content and safety primarily through the directly-applicable EU Digital Services Act, transposed for enforcement by a dedicated 2024 national act designating the Danish Agency for Digital Government as Digital Services Coordinator with inspection, data-access and fining powers. On top of this baseline, Denmark has adopted NIS2 cybersecurity rules, is legislating a copyright-based protection against AI deepfakes, and reached a broad political agreement in November 2025 to introduce a national minimum age of 15 for social-media accounts (13 with parental consent), enforced via DSA Article 28 obligations and the national eID wallet.
The Digital Services Act in Denmark
In Denmark, 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 Denmark, 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 Denmark; the national Digital Services Coordinator handles day-to-day supervision.
The Digital Services Act in Denmark: FAQ
Yes. As an EU member, Denmark is covered by the EU Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065), which applies directly.
Notice-and-action mechanisms for illegal content, transparency reporting, clear terms of service, and measures to protect minors.
The national Digital Services Coordinator, with the European Commission supervising very large online platforms and search engines.
Up to 6% of a provider's global annual turnover for serious breaches.
Key points
The Act on the enforcement of the DSA entered into force on 17 February 2024. Since 29 August 2024, the Danish Agency for Digital Government (Digitaliseringsstyrelsen) is the designated Digital Services Coordinator (transferred from the Competition and Consumer Authority), with powers to request data, order inspections, impose fines and certify trusted flaggers / out-of-court dispute settlement bodies.
In November 2025 the Danish government secured broad parliamentary backing for a national minimum age of 15 for certain social-media platforms (parents may allow access from 13 following a specific assessment). The rule is designed to trigger DSA Art. 28 age-verification obligations on platforms and to be operationalised via the Danish national digital-identity wallet; children and parents are not personally sanctioned.
A proposed amendment to the Danish Copyright Act (public consultation 7 July 2025) grants every individual rights over their body, facial features and voice, allowing takedown demands and compensation for unauthorised AI-generated imitations, with platform liability if hosts fail to act (new §§ 65-a and 73-a). The reform is being tracked as an EU-level template by EPRS.
The Danish NIS2 Act entered into force on 1 July 2025 (after missing the EU deadline of 17 Oct 2024), following a sector-based approach with separate acts for telecoms, energy and finance. Covered essential and important entities had to register by 1 October 2025 and must notify significant incidents to the sectoral authority and CSIRT.
The Danish DSC has awarded Trusted Flagger status under DSA Art. 22 to the NGO Red Barnet (Save the Children Denmark), enabling prioritised takedown notices for illegal content, particularly CSAM. Child online-safety is also anchored in a cross-party political agreement allocating DKK 160 million to 14 initiatives.
During Denmark's 2025 EU Council presidency, a Danish-drafted 'Jutland Declaration' on protecting minors online was endorsed by a majority of EU member states in October 2025, pushing for EU-wide age-assurance standards, restrictions on addictive design, and stronger DSA enforcement against very large online platforms.
Timeline - major decisions & events
A cross-party majority in the Folketing backed a plan to bar children under 15 from social media (with a parental opt-out from age 13), to be enforced via national eID and a planned age-verification app. It signals a shift from content moderation toward access restriction for minors.
PBS News ↗As holder of the EU Council Presidency, Denmark removed mandatory client-side detection orders from the CSAM Regulation compromise after Germany withheld support, shifting to voluntary scanning. This defused a major encryption/privacy fight over message scanning.
BankInfoSecurity ↗The European Commission released its age-verification 'mini wallet' app blueprint, naming Denmark among five states piloting it in 2025. Denmark made privacy-preserving age checks a flagship of its EU Presidency to keep children off adult and social platforms.
European Commission ↗Taking the rotating Council Presidency, Denmark reintroduced the controversial CSAM Regulation requiring messaging services to scan content for child abuse material. The push reignited an EU-wide debate over encryption and mass scanning.
Euronews ↗By Executive Order no. 1005, Denmark transferred the Digital Services Coordinator role from the Competition and Consumer Authority to the Agency for Digital Government under the new Ministry of Digital Affairs. This set the institutional home for enforcing online platform rules.
Agency for Digital Government (Digitaliseringsstyrelsen) ↗Denmark's national law implementing enforcement of the EU Digital Services Act (signed 28 Dec 2023) took effect, designating the competent authority and penalties of up to 6% of global turnover. It anchored EU rules on illegal content, notice-and-action, and platform transparency in Danish law.
Bird & Bird (DSA Tracker) ↗Danish police charged over 1,000 mostly young people with distributing child sexual abuse material after a video of under-15s was shared via Facebook Messenger, flagged through Facebook, Europol and US authorities. It became a landmark case on online sharing of intimate images of minors.
The Copenhagen Post ↗Denmark's largest ISP, TDC, launched a DNS filter blocking child sexual abuse websites in cooperation with the National Police and Save the Children; other ISPs soon joined, covering most Danish users. It established the long-running voluntary police-industry blocking model.
Wikipedia (Censorship in Denmark) ↗Law no. 227 ('Act on services in the information society') transposed the EU E-Commerce Directive into Danish law, creating safe-harbour liability exemptions for hosts and conduits plus the basis for notice-and-takedown. It is the foundation of online intermediary regulation later superseded by the DSA.
Retsinformation (Danish official gazette) ↗Denmark - other topics
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