MADRID: Spain will move to ban access to social media for teenagers under the age of 16 and require platforms to introduce robust age-verification systems, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Tuesday, outlining a series of measures aimed at creating a safer digital environment for young people.
Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Sánchez said his left-wing coalition government was responding to the growing spread of hate speech, pornographic material, and disinformation on social media – content it believes is having a harmful impact on minors.
“Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone. We will no longer accept that,” Sánchez said, describing online platforms as a “digital Wild West” that requires urgent regulation. He urged other European nations to adopt similar restrictions.
Spain’s announcement follows Australia’s landmark decision in December to become the first country to ban social media access for children under 16 — a move now being closely examined by governments in Britain, France, and elsewhere.
Sánchez said Spain has joined five other European nations in what he called the “Coalition of the Digitally Willing,” a group aimed at coordinating and enforcing cross-border digital regulation. He did not identify the countries involved, and his office did not immediately respond to requests for clarification. The coalition is expected to hold its first meeting in the coming days, according to Reuters.
“We know that this is a battle that far exceeds the boundaries of any country,” Sánchez said, stressing the need for collective European action.
As part of the initiative, Spain will introduce a bill as early as next week that would hold social media executives legally accountable for illegal content and hate speech hosted on their platforms. The proposed legislation would also criminalise algorithmic manipulation and the amplification of illegal material.
Among the measures under consideration is a system to monitor and track hate speech online. Platforms would also be required to deploy age-verification mechanisms that go beyond simple self-declared check boxes, Sánchez said.
He added that prosecutors would explore potential legal infractions involving platforms and AI tools such as Elon Musk’s Grok, TikTok, and Meta-owned Instagram.
