Legal definitions
Malta defines a child as a person under 18. The legal age of consent for sexual activity is 16, and sexual activity with a person under 16 years old is criminalized regardless of consent.
“Child sexual exploitation” is not expressly defined but is addressed through Criminal Code provisions criminalizing the exploitation of minors in prostitution and pornography, including recruiting, coercing, inducing, or profiting from such conduct. Similarly, “sexually explicit conduct” is not expressly defined but is criminalized through offenses involving the production, distribution, possession, or dissemination of pornographic material depicting minors engaged in real or simulated sexual acts.
Child sexual abuse is addressed through multiple Criminal Code provisions prohibiting sexual acts with minors, sexual exploitation, coercion, exposure of minors to sexual content, and abuse facilitated through information and communication technologies. Child pornography or child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is criminalized as any visual depiction of a person under 18 years old engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including photographs, videos, and digital content, whether real or simulated.
The terms “enticement,” “grooming,” and “sextortion” are not expressly defined, but the conduct is criminalized through offenses prohibiting arranging or meeting a child under 16 years old for sexual purposes, coercing or manipulating minors to provide sexual favors or explicit material, and threatening the dissemination of such material for sexual or financial gain.
Regulatory requirements/recommendations
As an EU Member State, Malta is subject to the framework established under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). Under the DSA, online platforms are not subject to a general obligation to proactively monitor all user content, but they are required to implement notice-and-action mechanisms, remove illegal content such as CSAM once aware of it, and take proportionate measures to mitigate systemic risks, including risks to children. Malta does not have standalone domestic legislation regulating platform obligations to detect or moderate child sexual exploitation content.
Age verification requirements/recommendations
Online platforms are not subject to a general obligation to implement age verification measures before granting access, but they may be required to adopt proportionate age verification or parental control measures for certain services or content where necessary to protect minors under the EU DSA.
Parental consent requirements/recommendations
Online platforms are not required to obtain parental consent before allowing a child to access their services.
Legal remedies for child victims
As an EU Member State, Malta protects child victims of online sexual exploitation through a combination of victim rights legislation, criminal law directives, data protection remedies, and platform obligations that ensure access to support, participation in proceedings, removal of illegal content, and avenues for redress. In addition, Malta provides domestic legal protections for child victims through the Minor Protection Act (CAP 602), the Criminal Code (CAP 9), and the Civil Code, which allow for protective and care orders, court-ordered removal of harmful content, injunctions, and access to compensation and support services.
"Safety by Design" requirements
In Malta, there is no standalone domestic legislation requiring online platforms to implement “Safety by Design” measures. As an EU Member State, Malta applies the DSA, which obligates platforms to integrate proportionate, risk-based design and governance measures to protect minors and mitigate the dissemination of CSAM, subject to regulatory oversight and enforcement.