Spain will seek to ban the use of social media platforms by minors under the age of 16, the country's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced this morning.
This decision follows a similar ban in Australia for under-16s in December and the approval last week by French lawmakers of a bill that would ban the use of social media by under-15s.
“Spain will ban access to social networks for minors under the age of 16. Platforms will be forced to implement effective age verification systems, not just boxes to tick, but real barriers that work,” Sánchez said, speaking at a leaders’ summit in the United Arab Emirates.
“Today, our children are exposed to a space that was never meant for them to face alone. A space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation and violence. We will no longer accept this.”
To enforce the ban, the Spanish government will reportedly seek to force platforms to implement strict age verification methods. The government will introduce a new bill next week to hold social media executives accountable for illegal and hateful content.
With the increase in social media use, concern has also grown that excessive screen time is harming children's development and contributing to mental health problems.
