1. Risk Rating  
  2. AI regulation in your jurisdiction
  3. Existing Regulatory Frameworks Applicable to AI
  4. Regulatory Oversight of AI 
  5. AI Guidance, Policies, and Strategic Frameworks
  6. International AI Standards and Guidelines 
  7. Forthcoming AI Legislation 
  8. Useful links

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Portugal
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Risk Rating  

Medium.

AI regulation in your jurisdiction

Portugal has not enacted a dedicated national AI law. AI is governed through existing national legal frameworks and sector-specific regimes, which operate alongside the directly applicable EU Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689).

Existing Regulatory Frameworks Applicable to AI

Portugal does not have a standalone, comprehensive AI law. In practice, AI systems are primarily governed by horizontal national frameworks (often implementing EU rules) and sector-specific regimes, operating alongside the directly applicable EU AI Act.

Key laws relevant to AI include:

  • Law No. 58/2019 (GDPR implementation): Implements the GDPR in Portugal and establishes binding rules for the use of personal data in automated and data-driven systems. It applies to AI systems that process personal data, including profiling and automated decision-making with legal or similarly significant effects, and sets compliance and enforcement powers for the Portuguese data protection authority (CNPD).
  • Decree-Law No. 125/2025 (Cybersecurity / NIS2): Transposes the NIS2 Directive and applies where AI systems support essential or important services or critical infrastructure, imposing cybersecurity risk-management and incident-reporting obligations, under the coordination of the National Cybersecurity Centre (CNCS). Enters into force on 3 April 2026.
  • Law No. 24/96 (Consumer Protection Law) and Decree-Law No. 57/2008 (Unfair Commercial Practices):  Apply to the use of AI in consumer-facing contexts, particularly where automated or data-driven systems influence purchasing decisions, pricing or the presentation of information, ensuring transparency and protection against misleading or manipulative practices.
  • Decree-Law No. 69/2005 (General Product Safety): Applies where AI is embedded in consumer products or performs safety-related functions, enabling market surveillance and corrective measures where AI-enabled products pose risks to users.
  • Labour Code (Law No. 7/2009): Governs the use of AI in employment contexts, including recruitment, performance evaluation and workplace monitoring, requiring respect for worker protections, transparency and non-discrimination.

Sectors most commonly implicated in AI governance in Portugal: data-driven services generally; critical infrastructure/digital services; consumer-facing digital commerce; product safety contexts; and employment/HR use cases.

Regulatory Oversight of AI 

Portugal has formally designated, in September 2025, ANACOM (Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações) as the national market surveillance authority and single point of contact for the EU AI Act.

ANACOM leads national supervision and enforcement coordination (including market surveillance, information-gathering and enforcement actions) and coordinates with other competent authorities where AI is used in regulated areas (for example, the Banco de Portugal, the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM) and the Portuguese Data Protection Authority (CNPD) for data-protection matters).

AI Guidance, Policies, and Strategic Frameworks

Portugal has adopted a set of official strategies and policy frameworks  that shape its public position on AI development and deployment, notably:

  • Portugal Digital Strategy (Estratégia Digital Nacional – “EDN”), approved by Council of Ministers Resolution No. 207/2024:  establishes Portugal’s national digital strategy and governance framework. AI is treated as a priority policy area under the EDN, including through the “National Artificial Intelligence Agenda”, which sets the high-level objectives for developing a national AI ecosystem grounded in ethical principles, scientific excellence and responsible deployment.
  • Digital Transition Action Plan (Plano de Ação para a Transição Digital), approved by Council of Ministers Resolution No. 30/2020: a cross-government programme to accelerate digital transformation across public administration, the economy and citizens, providing the policy backbone for digital public services and data-driven modernisation initiatives that frequently involve AI.
  • INCoDe.2030 – National Digital Competences Initiative (Iniciativa Nacional Competências Digitais e.2030): a government-led programme focused on digital skills and capacity-building, which also serves as a hub for public initiatives supporting AI literacy, uptake and ecosystem development.
  • “AI Portugal 2030”: a national policy initiative promoted in the context of INCoDe.2030, aimed at fostering AI research, innovation and adoption across priority domains (including public administration, education and business).
  • National Innovation Agency (Agência Nacional de Inovação – “ANI”): a public innovation agency supporting the implementation of R&D and innovation policy, including through funding instruments and facilitation of participation in EU research and innovation programmes, which commonly include AI-related projects.

International AI Standards and Guidelines 

Portugal does not formally incorporate international AI standards into AI-specific national legislation.

At policy level, Portugal’s official AI framing (including AI Portugal 2030) is aligned with the OECD AI Principles, reflecting a commitment to “trustworthy AI” concepts such as human-centricity, transparency and accountability.

Beyond this, other international instruments (such as UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI or Council of Europe initiatives) are not expressly referenced or adopted in Portuguese AI policy documents as standalone national benchmarks, with international alignment occurring primarily through EU-level frameworks rather than distinct national adoption.

Forthcoming AI Legislation 

There are no plans at present to implement specific AI Legislation.

Portugal’s current priority is the domestic implementation of the EU AI Act, focusing on the establishment and coordination of national enforcement and supervision mechanisms rather than the adoption of a standalone Portuguese AI law. A key step in this process was the designation of ANACOM in September 2025 as the national market surveillance authority and point of contact for the AI Act.