Spain will ban social networks for children under the age of 16 and require platforms to use strict age verification tools, joining Australia, France and Denmark in efforts to curb the influence of digital platforms on children.
“Our children are being exposed to a space that was never meant to be traversed alone. A space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation and violence,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday. “We will no longer accept this. We will protect them from the digital Wild West.”
Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Sánchez said his government would also propose new laws that would make social media executives criminally liable if they fail to remove illegal or hateful content.
The new rules will also punish individuals and platforms that amplify illegal content, including through algorithms. “Algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content will become a new criminal offense,” he said. “Spreading hate must have a cost.”
The process of approving the laws will begin next week. Other proposed measures include the creation of a “hate and polarization trail,” a system that would measure and analyze how digital platforms fuel division and spread hatred, Sánchez said.
In December, Australia became the first country in the world to implement a social media ban for under-16s, blocking access to 10 platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and X. Britain is considering a similar move, while France and Denmark have recently announced plans to ban access to social media for children under 15.
French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that he wants to speed up the legal process so that the ban can come into effect before the start of the new school year in September.
Other European countries are also taking a tougher stance on social media companies. Sánchez said Spain has joined forces with five other European countries “committed to stricter, faster and more effective regulation of social media.” He did not name the countries, but said the group would hold its first meeting in the coming days, with the aim of coordinating enforcement across borders.
"This is a battle that transcends the borders of any one state," he concluded./CNN
