Law Against False Information on the Internet

The Law seeks to protect the rights to a good name, honour, reputation, image and respect for private and family life, as well as the protection of children and young people, the democratic process, State secrecy, judicial secrecy and professional secrecy.

The Law applies to all natural and legal persons that produce or disseminate false information on the internet [GF3.1]within the national territory.

It also applies to acts committed abroad, provided that they are directed at a target audience within the national territory.

• “Fake News” or “False Information”: the deliberate dissemination of false, misleading, fabricated, fraudulent or manipulated content, with the intention of misleading and improperly influencing public opinion or causing harm to fundamental rights.
  
  
• “Disinformation”: a narrative proven to be false or misleading, created to gain economic advantage or deliberately deceive the public, and likely to cause public harm.
  
  
• “Deepfake”: a technique that uses artificial intelligence to alter a video or photograph.
  
  
• “Application Provider”: a natural or legal person responsible for internet applications, which may be:

1. Intermediary providers of mere conduit services: such as telecommunications operators, who merely provide infrastructure for data transmission (without control over the content); and
2. Providers of digital platforms and applications, which play a role in the moderation, promotion and dissemination of content.

The following are prohibited on internet applications:

• Inauthentic accounts – e.g., fake profiles created to assume another person’s identity or disseminate disinformation;
  
  
• Unlabelled artificial amplifiers – e.g., unidentified bots that simulate human activity to amplify content;
  
  
• Artificial amplification networks – e.g., a coordinated set of accounts or bots used to obtain financial or political gain;
  
  
• Unlabelled sponsored content – e.g., paid posts without identification of the payer or the promotional nature of the content; and
  
  
• Malicious algorithmic manipulation – e.g., the intentional alteration of algorithms with a material impact on public order, public health or the electoral process.

These prohibitions do not restrict artistic, intellectual, satirical, religious, fictional or literary expression.

• Duty of transparency: (i) to publish up-to-date statistical data on accounts and content that have been removed or suspended; and (ii) to provide all users with access to a history of the sponsored content with which the user has come into contact over the last six months.
  
  
• Duty to report: to submit a monthly report to the Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority containing detailed data on inauthentic accounts, artificial disseminators and complaints.

• Duty of protection: to take the necessary measures to protect society and immediately remove content deemed to be false information.

• Minor administrative offences: failure to respond to requests for information or submitting reports after the deadline or in an incomplete form. Fines: 2 to 50 national minimum wages (natural persons); 10 to 100 national minimum wages (legal persons).
  
  
• Serious administrative offences: failure to remove content declared to be false; repeated failure to comply with the duty to cooperate; failure to identify sponsored political advertising. Fines: 4 to 50 national minimum wages (natural persons); 10 to 100 national minimum wages (legal persons).
  
  
• Very serious administrative offences: use of inauthentic accounts, artificial dissemination networks, malicious algorithmic manipulation affecting public order or the electoral process. Fines: 20 to 200 national minimum wages (natural persons); 40 to 400 national minimum wages (legal persons).

• Temporary suspension of activities or digital functionality (serious and repeated administrative offence).
  
  
• Closure of the digital platform or prohibition from participating in public procurement for a period not exceeding two years (very serious and repeated administrative offence).
  
  
• Decisions relating to serious or very serious infringements may also be made public where this is necessary to protect the public interest, prevent further infringements or safeguard trust and security in the digital environment.

The intentional production or dissemination of false information on the internet and the infringement of legal rights protected by this Law constitute a criminal offence.

In addition to administrative and criminal liability, a breach of the provisions of this Law may also give rise to civil liability.

Responsibility for regulatory supervision and the imposition of administrative sanctions rests with the Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority.

The Law came into force on 4 August 2026.