§ 24a. Your data and content when you withdraw from a digital service
When you withdraw from a subscription (abonnement) to digital content (digitalt innhold) or a digital service (digital tjeneste), the seller must stop using the content you have created or stored. If you ask for it, they must give you a copy of your content — free of charge and in a commonly used format. There are some exceptions for content that has no value outside the service.
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
In contracts for digital content or digital services, the trader (næringsdrivende) shall refrain from using any content, other than personal data (personopplysninger), which the consumer (forbruker) has provided or created when using the digital content or the digital service supplied by the trader. However, this does not apply if the content a. has no utility outside the context of the digital content or the digital service b. only relates to the consumer's activity when using the digital content or the digital service c. has been aggregated with other data by the trader and cannot be disaggregated, or can only be disaggregated with disproportionate effort, or d. has been generated jointly by the consumer and others, and other consumers can continue to make use of the content.
If the consumer requests it, the trader shall make available to the consumer any content referred to in the first paragraph, except in the cases mentioned in the first paragraph, letters a, b and c.
The consumer has the right to retrieve this digital content free of charge, without hindrance from the trader, within a reasonable time and in a commonly used and machine-readable format.
What does this mean?
§ 24 a was added in 2023 and deals with something relatively new: your data and what you have created in a digital service. Think of all the photos you have stored in Dropbox, the documents in Google Drive, or your progress in an online game.
The main rule: When you withdraw, the seller must stop using what you have created or stored. Personal data is regulated separately under data protection law (personvernlovgivningen) — this section deals with other content you have generated.
You have the right to retrieve your content. If you ask for it:
- You must get access free of charge
- Within a reasonable time
- In a "commonly used and machine-readable format" (typically a standard file type you can open in other programs)
Four exceptions — the seller does not have to give it back:
- a) Content with no value outside the service. For example: configuration data for a specific game that does not work anywhere else.
- b) Content that only relates to your activity in the service. Logs of which buttons you have pressed, user statistics, score history.
- c) Content mixed with other data. If the seller has combined your data with other people's and it is practically impossible to separate — you are not entitled to have it handed over. (You still have the right to have them stop using it.)
- d) Content created together with others, where others are still using it. For example, a shared document where other users are still working in the same file.
Examples
Eva has a subscription to a cloud storage service where she has stored 50 GB of family photos, documents and videos. She decides to withdraw within the deadline. Under § 24 a, Eva has the right to retrieve all her files — free of charge, within a reasonable time, and in a common format (JPG, PDF, MP4 etc.). The service must also stop using these files after she has retrieved them and the account has been closed.
Petter has played an online role-playing game for two weeks. He has a character with equipment, he has collected points, and he has chatted with other players. He withdraws from the subscription. Under § 24 a, he cannot demand to have his game character handed over (letter a — has no value outside the game) or his points logs (letter b — only relates to his activity). Chat history in group conversations may also be exempt (letter d). What the seller cannot do: use his character for marketing after the contract has been cancelled.
Common mistakes
- You think "refund = deletion of everything". It is not. § 24 a says that the seller must stop using your content. What is actually deleted and when is a separate matter — regulated by data protection law and the company's terms.
- You think you can demand "all data about you". You have the right to get what you have created — not necessarily internal log data, profiles or statistics that the seller has generated about you.
- You wait too long to retrieve your data. After the account has been closed, access may become difficult. Retrieve your content before, or immediately when, you withdraw.
What should you do?
When you withdraw from a subscription where you have stored data:
- Explicitly ask to get your content in your notice of withdrawal (angremelding)
- Check whether the service has an "Export data" function — many have this automatically
- Download before the account is closed, if possible
- If the seller refuses, refer to § 24 a and demand access in a reasonable format