PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC PROMULGATES DECREE ENSURING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN DIGITAL SERVICES ACT

On 14 April 2026, the President of the Republic promulgated Decree No. 47/XVII/1 of the Assembly of the Republic, which implements, within the national legal framework, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a single market for digital services (Digital Services Act).

This legislative act establishes the national legal framework for the application of the Digital Services Act, also amending Decree-Law no. 7/2004 of 7 January (electronic commerce) and the Law on the Organisation of the Judicial System, as well as repealing Decree-Law No. 20-B/2024 of 16 February.

Among the implemented measures, we highlight the following:

• Strengthened obligations for intermediary service providers: introduces clear obligations to comply with orders from competent authorities to: 
  • remove or block unlawful content; 
  • provide information on users and recipients of services. 
     
• Formal requirements for authority orders addressing digital content: establishes the minimum elements that such orders must contain. 
   
• Designation of ANACOM as Digital Services Coordinator: ANACOM assumes a central role, with powers of supervision, enforcement, investigation, and the imposition of corrective measures and sanctions. 
   
• Allocation of competences among authorities and enhanced institutional coordination: 
  • Regulatory Authority for the Media (Entidade Reguladora da Comunicação): matters relating to content and media; 
  • Portuguese Data Protection Supervisory Authority (Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados): data protection matters. 
     
• Strengthened investigative and enforcement powers: ANACOM may, in particular: 
  • request information; 
  • order inspections (subject to judicial authorisation); 
  • impose corrective measures; 
  • apply fines and periodic penalty payments. 
     
• Mechanisms for intervention in serious situations: provision for exceptional measures, including the imposition of action plans and temporary restrictions on access to services in extreme cases. 
   
• Complaint and user participation system: service recipients will be able to file complaints with ANACOM. 
   
• Creation of a centralised communication platform: the decree provides for the development of a digital platform managed by ANACOM, intended for: 
  • submission and receipt of orders between authorities and service providers; 
  • processing of communications and information requests; 
  • handling of user complaints; 
  • sharing of information between national and European authorities. 
     
• Fines and penalties:  
  • The maximum amount of fines applicable for administrative offences is set at 6% of the income earned by natural persons in the financial year preceding the conviction decision or, in the case of legal persons, 6% of their global annual turnover, also referring to the year preceding the conviction decision. 
  • Possibility of imposing periodic penalty payments. 
     

This Decree-Law thus constitutes a decisive step in the operationalisation of the Digital Services Regulation in Portugal, strengthening the powers of national authorities and detailing the regime applicable to digital service providers, with a direct impact on the digital ecosystem and user protection.

Following promulgation, the decree will proceed to publication in the Official Gazette (Diário da República).