Media in Iceland

The Media Act applies to providers established in Iceland and to content intended for Iceland. It covers print and electronic text, linear and on-demand audiovisual services and video-sharing services. Fjölmiðlanefnd, the Icelandic Media Commission, is an independent authority under the Ministry of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education. It licenses audiovisual services, registers media, publishes information about ownership, responsible editors and editorial policies, monitors the market and handles complaints. Alþingi makes the legislation, while RÚV operates the public-service broadcasting system. BÍ and its Ethics Committee support journalistic self-regulation. Media providers must respect human rights, equality and privacy. News and news-related content should be accurate and objective and should present differing relevant views. Rules also protect confidential sources and prohibit hate incitement and criminal incitement. Sponsorship, product placement and advertising must be identified and follow specific restrictions. Providers preserve media content for at least 18 months, which supports later review and complaints. Iceland has registered national and local newspapers, online outlets, radio stations, television services and podcasts. In 2024, the media market generated about ISK 30.3 billion. Users supplied about ISK 18.7 billion, or 62 percent, while advertising supplied about ISK 11.6 billion, or 38 percent. Television accounted for about 55 percent of revenue, radio 15 percent, daily and weekly newspapers 12 percent, online media 12 percent, magazines and other print 3 percent, and podcasts 2 percent. The five largest providers received about 88 percent of market revenue, and RÚV accounted for about 29 percent. Foreign media received 51 percent of Icelandic advertising spending. This concentration and the movement of advertising to global platforms make ownership checks, source comparison and media literacy especially useful. RÚV, or Ríkisútvarpið, is a state-owned but independent public-service company. Its nationwide minimum service includes at least two radio channels and one television channel throughout the year, covering news, education, sport, entertainment, arts and culture, and programming for children and young people. RÚV.is and the RÚV app provide live and on-demand access. Programmes are normally available for 7 to 90 days, and more than 400 television and radio recordings are added each week. RÚV2 carries events, while Rás 1, Rás 2 and Rondó serve different radio purposes. Emergency and public-interest announcements may interrupt the normal schedule. RÚV also accepts programme ideas, provides archive access within rights limits and offers ways to participate in public-service media policy. RÚV's public-service access is financed partly through útvarpsgjald, the public-broadcasting fee. Residents aged 18 to 70 and legal entities pay it through public charges, and the service-contract period is four years. Commercial alternatives include SÝN, SÝN+, Sjónvarp Símans Premium, Viaplay and other licensed or registered providers. SÝN increasingly distributes its services through an over-the-top app that does not depend on a particular telecommunications provider. A provider may offer access through a website, mobile device, smart TV, Apple TV, Android TV or Fire TV. Listed prices have included about ISK 2,590 per month for SÝN Sjónvarp, ISK 5,990 for SÝN+, ISK 8,990 for SÝN+ Sport Ísland and ISK 13,990 for SÝN+ Allt Sport. Prices, programme rights and availability change frequently, and Iceland has no universal single streaming bundle. Access can also depend on territorial rights, the provider's account rules, the device and the length of the rights window. Social media and user-generated content fall within the media scope when the main issue concerns production, distribution, access, rights, child protection or critical assessment. A nationwide study by Fjölmiðlanefnd and the University of Iceland examined children and young people aged 9 to 18. A 2025 survey reported that more than half of respondents encountered hateful references online every week, while 41.7 percent of the 18-to-29 age group reported daily exposure. Platform reach, algorithmic selection, commercial communication, impersonation, misinformation and privacy can all affect how content should be assessed. Media literacy, called miðlalæsi, includes checking the author, publication date, ownership, sponsor, evidence and format, and comparing RÚV with commercial and online sources. A report, opinion piece, advertisement and user post do not carry the same editorial controls. Icelandic rules restrict audiovisual content that could harm children's physical, mental or moral development, especially pornography and unjustified violence. Linear content unsuitable for children under 12 is generally not shown before the watershed. Content for ages 12 and above is generally restricted to after 21:00 from Sunday through Thursday and after 22:00 on Friday and Saturday until 05:00, with a clear warning and visual marker. On-demand services may provide harmful content only when effective technical controls restrict access by children. A necessary news report may qualify for an exception if it includes the required warning and marker. Films and games use age labels such as L, 6, 9, 12, 14, 16 and 18 under the practice connected with Act 62/2006. Advertising and teleshopping are prohibited in programmes intended for children aged 12 or under, including the five minutes before and after such programming. Parental controls and age labels help manage access, but an individual child's response can be more serious than the label suggests. Freedom of opinion, expression and information is protected by the Constitution. The Copyright Act 73/1972 sets the permission and licensing limits for copying, public communication, streaming and archive reuse. A person whose reputation is harmed by false facts can request a right of reply from the provider without paying for it. The request should identify the relevant content; if the provider refuses or does not answer, the matter can be taken to Fjölmiðlanefnd. The claimant can receive a relevant copy of the content free of charge. Any media user may complain to Fjölmiðlanefnd about breaches of the Media Act, certain RÚV commercial-communication rules or child-access rules, even without proving a personal interest. Professional-ethics complaints can be submitted to BÍ's Ethics Committee. Journalistic duties include verification, correction, consideration of opposing views, source confidentiality, privacy and separation of editorial content from advertising. Providers are expected to improve access for blind and visually impaired people, deaf and hard-of-hearing people and people with intellectual disabilities. Captions, Icelandic Sign Language and audio description are relevant tools. National rules do not vary by city or region, but local media availability and terrestrial or online distribution can differ by locality. Users may submit complaints and alerts, inspect published ownership and editorial-policy information, request a right of reply, propose RÚV programmes and use short-term audiovisual licences, including school-student radio licences. Users also need to respect copyright, privacy, age restrictions and provider terms. Local-media support applications follow a statutory allocation process.