Internet & Online Safety · Denmark
Online safety & content laws in Denmark (2026)
Denmark shaded by its internet & online safety status
As an EU member state, Denmark's online content and safety regime is anchored in the directly-applicable EU Digital Services Act, supplemented by a 2023/2024 national enforcement law designating the Agency for Digital Government as Digital Services Coordinator. Denmark is also a notably active national legislator in this space, having enacted an under-15 social-media restriction with age verification and a pioneering copyright-based likeness/deepfake regime, and it leads EU-level child-protection initiatives (the 'Jutland Declaration').
Key points
The directly-applicable EU Digital Services Act governs illegal content, notice-and-action, transparency, and platform-liability rules; Very Large Online Platforms are supervised directly by the European Commission. Denmark applies this framework as an EU member.
Denmark's Act on enforcement of the DSA was signed 28 Dec 2023 and entered into force 17 Feb 2024; the Digital Services Coordinator role was transferred to the Agency for Digital Government (Digitaliseringsstyrelsen) on 29 Aug 2024.
A cross-party parliamentary agreement (Oct 2025) backs banning social-media accounts for under-15s, with a parental opt-in possible from age 13; legislation is expected to pass in 2026. Denmark plans to use its national eID (MitID) and a dedicated age-verification app.
Denmark says it can require platforms to perform 'proper age verification' and that non-compliant companies face fines of up to 6% of global turnover via EU enforcement channels; platforms are expected to use age-estimation/verification services.
A Ministry of Culture amendment to the Copyright Act (proposed June/July 2025) would grant individuals rights over their face, body and voice, enabling takedown notices, compensation, and platform liability for unauthorized realistic digital depictions; expected in force by around end-March 2026.
During its 2025 EU Council presidency Denmark drafted the 'Jutland Declaration' on protecting minors online, signed by 25 member states (October 2025), signalling a push for stronger EU-wide age-verification and child-safety measures.
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
Last verified 5/23/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →