Malta

National jurisdiction · as of 2026-09-07

Malta's principal age-related duty binds a video-sharing platform provider. The Broadcasting (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act No. LVI of 2020), transposing the revised EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive (Directive (EU) 2018/1808), inserted Articles 16R and 16S into the Broadcasting Act, Cap. 350.

Article 16S requires a video-sharing platform provider under Maltese jurisdiction to take the necessary measures to protect minors from programmes, user-generated videos and audiovisual commercial communications that may impair their physical, mental or moral development, including the establishment and operation of age-verification systems for users in relation to such content and of parental-control systems under the end-user's control; the Broadcasting Authority is charged with ensuring providers under its jurisdiction apply those measures.

Malta has no dedicated social-media minor-access restriction, app-store age-verification requirement, or age-appropriate design code distinct from this video-sharing platform duty as of the date below.

01

Instruments on record

Broadcasting Act, Cap. 350, Arts. 16R-16S (Video-Sharing Platform Minor-Protection Duties)

In force

Broadcasting Act, Cap. 350, arts. 16R-16S, inserted by the Broadcasting (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act No. LVI of 2020)

Applies to private

Article 16S requires a video-sharing platform provider under the jurisdiction of Malta to take the necessary measures to protect minors from programmes, user-generated videos and audiovisual commercial communications which may impair their physical, mental or moral development. Those measures include establishing and operating age verification systems for users of video-sharing platforms with respect to such content.

They also include providing for parental control systems that are under the control of the end-user with respect to such content. Personal data of minors collected or otherwise generated through those age-verification or parental-control measures may not be processed for commercial purposes such as direct marketing, profiling and behaviourally targeted advertising. The Broadcasting Authority ensures that all video-sharing platform providers under its jurisdiction apply such measures.

The Act was passed by the House of Representatives on 2 December 2020. It received presidential assent on 7 December 2020, and no separate commencement notice fixing a later day has been located.

Enforcement bodyBroadcasting Authority (Malta)

Source: Full text of law