Spain moves against social media giants over child protection
Spain’s government has stepped up its campaign to tighten control over social media platforms, invoking prosecutorial powers and advancing plans to bar children under 16 from accessing such services, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the Council of Ministers would invoke Article 8 of the Statute of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to request an investigation into potential crimes by X, Meta and TikTok.
The probe would examine whether the platforms have facilitated the creation and dissemination of child sexual abuse material through artificial intelligence tools.
“These platforms are attacking the mental health, dignity and rights of our sons and daughters,” Sánchez wrote on X, adding that the state cannot allow impunity for tech giants.
The move comes alongside broader legislation that would ban children under 16 from using social media, subject to parliamentary approval. Unveiled at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, the proposal forms part of a wider digital protection package for minors.
Under the plan, platforms would be required to implement effective age-verification systems. The government also aims to criminalize the manipulation of algorithms that amplify illegal content and to hold company executives legally responsible if harmful material is not removed. Authorities are considering a system to monitor how online platforms contribute to hate and social division.
The announcement has triggered strong reactions from tech leaders. Elon Musk, owner of X, described Sánchez as “the true fascist totalitarian” in a post on his platform.
Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, warned that strict age-verification measures, including the potential use of identity documents or biometric data, could erode online anonymity and expand data collection beyond minors. He also criticized proposals to hold executives criminally liable and to penalize algorithmic amplification of harmful content, arguing that such measures could lead to over-censorship and suppress dissent.
At the European level, regulators are also scrutinizing platform design. The European Commission has preliminarily found that TikTok may have breached the Digital Services Act. Investigators cited features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and highly personalized recommendations, which they say encourage compulsive use, particularly among minors.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Portugal joined the growing EU push to tighten social media age limits.
