Spain Moves to Ban Under-16s From Social Media; Musk Insults Sánchez
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spain will ban under-16s from social media and seek criminal liability for platform executives, with a bill possible next week.
Overview
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced at the World Government Summit in Dubai that Spain will ban people under 16 from accessing social media and require "effective age-verification systems," with a bill possible next week.
Sánchez outlined five measures to curb platform harm, including criminalizing algorithmic amplification of illegal content, creating a "hate and polarization footprint," and exposing executives to prosecution, according to his speech.
X owner Elon Musk posted on X that "Dirty Sánchez is a tyrant and a traitor" and later called Pedro Sánchez "the true fascist totalitarian," according to his public X posts.
Spain’s proposal follows Australia’s December law that requires platforms to remove users under 16 and allows fines of up to A$50 million (about $33 million) for noncompliance, a precedent cited by officials.
The Spanish government said prosecutors will investigate alleged legal infractions by Grok, TikTok and Instagram and the draft law must still pass parliament, setting up potential legal challenges and platform pushback.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame this coverage as a spreading, protective policy trend: editorial choices foreground government rhetoric and youth-harm claims (highlighting Spain’s pledge and Australia’s law), emphasize international adoption, and append civil‑liberties objections as secondary. Direct quotes like "digital wild west" are source content used to support that frame.
Sources (4)
FAQ
The measures include banning under-16s from social media with effective age-verification systems, criminalizing algorithmic amplification of illegal content, creating a 'hate and polarization footprint,' and holding platform executives criminally liable for failing to remove illegal or hateful content.
Elon Musk posted on X calling Pedro Sánchez 'Dirty Sánchez,' a 'tyrant and a traitor,' and later 'the true fascist totalitarian.'
Australia enacted a law in December banning social media for under-16s, requiring platforms to remove such users with fines up to A$50 million for noncompliance; platforms like Meta and Snapchat have blocked hundreds of thousands of accounts.
The bill must pass parliament where Sánchez's coalition lacks a majority, and it could encounter platform pushback, legal challenges, and concerns over enforcement effectiveness as seen in Australia where teens often circumvent restrictions.
France, Britain, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, and others in the EU are exploring or pushing for similar under-16 social media restrictions, with Spain joining a coalition for cross-border regulation.
History
This story does not have any previous versions.