NORDIC 
MEDIA POLICY

With summer and the holiday period just around the corner, here is a short and sweet issue of Nordic Media Policy. This time, we look at Sweden’s inquiry proposal for an age limit on social media, Norwegian discussions on VAT reform, Finnish calls for media subsidies, and Danish ideas for a newspaper tax deduction.

Have a pleasant summer – NMP will be back in time for the autumn term.

Swedish inquiry proposes age limit for social media

An interim report in the Swedish Government Official Reports series (SOU 2026:35) proposes a new law setting an age limit for children’s access to social media. The proposed age limit would apply from the year a child turns 15. Platforms covered by the proposed law include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. Exceptions would be made for online platforms run by small companies and civil society organisations. Platforms mainly used for purposes such as gaming, advertising goods or services, professional networking, open-source development, or storing and sharing information about physical activity would also be exempt. This means that services such as Airbnb, GitHub, LinkedIn, Minecraft, and Roblox would not be covered by the age limit. The inquiry’s final report is due on 14 November 2026.

Norwegian Parliament: Media VAT to be reviewed

The Norwegian Parliament has asked the government to examine a platform-neutral VAT exemption for news services, including its fiscal impact and possible scope, according to Journalisten. Relevant stakeholders are to be involved in the review, and the government has pledged to follow up on the decision, M24 reports.

Photo: Erik Lyngsøe

Danish prime minister welcomes proposal for newspaper tax deduction

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of the Social Democrats has welcomed a Conservative Party proposal to introduce a tax deduction for private newspaper subscriptions, describing it as “a good idea” that could strengthen Danish democracy. Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Moderates) has also called the proposal “an interesting idea”, according to TV2. The new Danish government is also expected to negotiate a new media agreement aimed at modernising media support and strengthening editorial media across platforms, Journalisten reports.

Should AI-generated news be eligible for media subsidies? 

The question of whether AI-generated news content should be eligible for different forms of media subsidies is currently being debated. In the new Danish government’s platform, the government states that it will not provide media subsidies to outlets written by artificial intelligence. “In my view, such media should not receive a single krone in support. I will work to have this included in the media agreement, and it will then, of course, be up to an arm’s-length body to assess each individual outlet”, the new Minister for Culture, Media and Sports Zenia Stampe (Social Liberal) recently told Politiken in an interview. Journalisten has also reported on the issue.

Sweden’s new media subsidy scheme: Early results

The Swedish Agency for the Media has analysed the effects of the new media subsidy scheme introduced in 2024 on behalf of the government. The scheme replaced the previous systems of press and media subsidies. According to the agency, more local and regional news media have received subsidies under the new system. More news media now report having a digital main product. At the same time, the cost of distribution subsidies has decreased as print circulation and publishing frequency have fallen. In addition, the agency finds that the temporary transition subsidy, which is being gradually phased out, has played a central role for an orderly move away from the previous system.

Call for news media subsidies in Finland

More than thirty independent Finnish publishers and editors of local newspapers have issued a joint statement calling on the Finnish government to introduce a new fixed-term distribution subsidy, or to revise the current forms of temporary support to better take local newspapers into account. Under the existing scheme, distribution subsidies have not been available for newspapers published only once or twice a week. As a permanent solution, representatives of the local newspaper sector propose targeted media support for local journalism.

Sweden to get new film policy 

Sweden’s current seven film policy goals are to be replaced by three, according to the government’s recently presented film policy bill. The new goals are to ensure a broad range of high-quality films, produced and shown across the country; to attract large domestic and international audiences for Swedish film; and to preserve and use Sweden’s film heritage. The bill also proposes moving responsibility for the production incentive from the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth to the Swedish Film Institute. The first-come, first-served principle for the incentive would be abolished and replaced by a new system with a funding cap. The preceding Swedish Government Official Report (SOU 2025:24) proposed lower VAT on cinema tickets and a new levy on major streaming services. These proposals are not included in the bill. Parts of the proposal have been criticised by the film industry. According to SVT Kultur, Anna Croneman, head of the Swedish Film Institute, has described the policy as “a betrayal of filmmakers and audiences”.

Nordic media policy bulletins

• Norwegian Media Authority: NRK largely fulfilled its public service remit in 2025
• Norwegian Media Authority: TV2 met all requirements as a commercial public service broadcaster in 2025
• Swedish Agency for the Media: SR, SVT, and UR broadly met their public service obligations in 2025
• Norwegian government: New AI cooperation body KI Norge (AI Norway) opens
• Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications: Network concession for Åland’s terrestrial television granted to Ålands Radio och TV
• Finnish Transport and Communications Agency: Television programming licences available for application for the ten-year period beginning in 2027
• Swedish Agency for the Media: 24 new licences for digital radio channels announced

New reports and statistics on the Nordics

• University of Oxford: Reuters Digital News Report 2026 is published, with fresh data on the news markets in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden
• Nordicom Review: New special issue explores online extremism in the Nordic countries
• Nordicom Books: Digital media and the challenges to democracies
• Statistics Faroe Islands: New and updated stats on book publications published
• Media Industry Research Foundation of Finland: New report on news media business models in the Nordic countries in an era of accelerated digitalisation
• Swedish Agency for the Media: Recent report on influencers’ impact on the media market
• Finnish Transport and Communications Agency: Consumers spend 20–40 euros per month on streaming services
• Suomen Lehdistö: Financial statistics on Finnish news media 2025
• National Library of Sweden: Final report on language models in the public sector

Don't forget our EU newsletter

Did you know that Nordicom has another newsletter about the media policy sector in the EU? It is called European Media Policy.

About the newsletter
The newsletter Nordic Media Policy reports on media policy developments in the Nordic countries and at the Nordic level. It presents new legislative proposals, parliamentary debates, and new media policy decisions and initiatives. The newsletter also draws attention to new reports and studies in the media field from the Nordic countries.

Nordic Media Policy is published with support from the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Editor
Tobias Lindberg, researcher at Nordicom
tobias.lindberg@nordicom.gu.se

Publisher
Nordicom University of Gothenburg
PO Box 713
SE-405 30
Gothenburg 
Sweden 
www.nordicom.gu.se

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