Spain moves to ban social media for under-16s

Elon Musk has labelled Sánchez a 'tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain'

"We will protect them from the digital Wild West," Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday (February 3).

The plans, which still require parliamentary approval, are part of a raft of changes that include making company executives responsible for "illegal or harmful content" on their platforms.

Australia was the first country to issue a ban last year, with other countries closely watching.

Now, France, Denmark, and Austria have also announced that they are considering their own age limits on social media.

The UK government has also since launched a consultation on whether to implement a ban for under-16s.

However, social media companies have argued that the bans would be ineffective, difficult to implement and could even isolate vulnerable teenagers.

Reddit has since also challenged Australia's ban in the High Court.

"Today, our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone," Sánchez said, describing social media as a place of "addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation [and] violence.

"We will no longer accept that. We will protect them."

Under the changes, social media platforms would be required to implement effective age verification systems, and "not just check boxes, but real barriers that work," the prime minister explained, possibly referring to the loopholes Australian children exploit to bypass checks, such as using a photo of an adult. The new laws would also criminalise manipulating algorithms to promote illegal content.

"This is something created, promoted, and disseminated by certain actors whom we will investigate, as well as the platforms whose algorithms amplify disinformation in exchange for profit," Sánchez said.

"Hiding behind code and claiming that technology is neutral is no longer acceptable."

Additionally, there would also be a new system to track "how digital platforms fuel division and amplify hate". However, no further details were given on how this would work.

Another measure, Sánchez said, would be to "investigate and prosecute the crimes committed by Grok [X's AI tool], TikTok, and Instagram," per the BBC.

The European Commission has launched an investigation into Grok over concerns it was used to create sexualised images of real people.

The UK has also launched its own investigation into Grok, and on Tuesday in France, the offices of X were raided by the Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit amid allegations of offences including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography.

X is yet to respond to either investigation.

Sánchez hopes to have the laws passed next week, but this could prove challenging as his left-wing coalition government lacks a parliamentary majority.

Spain's main opposition party, the conservative People's Party, appears to support the ban, noting that it has previously proposed similar measures, while the far-right Vox party has expressed its opposition.

Elon Musk has since responded to Spain's announcement, labelling Sánchez as a "tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain".