Online safety & content laws in Georgia (2026)

Freedom House's Freedom on the Net 2025 scored Georgia 70/100 (Free), a drop of 4 points — the largest decline among countries still rated Free — citing restrictive legislation, threats against digital media workers, and rising self-censorship. Website blocking remains limited and internet access is broadly available.

The Law on the Protection of Family Values and Minors, signed 3 October 2024 and in force from December 2024, bans the 'popularization' of same-sex relationships and portrayal of non-binary or transgender identities in media, advertising, and educational content, including online platforms. OHCHR and ARTICLE 19 condemned it as incompatible with international human rights standards.

The Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence (passed May 2024, effective August 2024) requires online media and civil-society organisations receiving more than 20% of funding from abroad to register as 'foreign agents.' A strengthened Foreign Agents Registration Act signed April 2025 criminalised non-registration with up to five years' imprisonment, drawing censure from the Venice Commission and the EU.

A new GDPR-aligned Law on Personal Data Protection was adopted by parliament on 14 June 2023 and entered into force on 1 March 2024. It establishes data-subject rights, controller/processor obligations, and transparency requirements. Enforcement is entrusted to the independent Personal Data Protection Service (PDPS).

Georgia has not enacted a comprehensive online platform safety or content-moderation law. There is no age-verification mandate for social media, no DSA/OSA-style systemic-risk or duty-of-care framework, and no formal platform-liability regime beyond general civil and criminal law. Georgia's EU accession process — paused over the foreign-influence laws — had been a driver for aligning with EU digital regulation.

Freedom House and Eurasianet documented increasing extralegal pressure on digital journalists and online outlets in 2024–2025, including physical assaults and intimidation. Criminal penalties introduced in February 2025 for insulting public officials online (up to 45 days' detention) further chilled online speech, though outright website blocking remains rare.