Spain will seek to prohibit children under the age of 16 from accessing social media and require platforms to introduce age-verification systems, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday while outlining a package of measures aimed at ensuring a safer digital environment.
Sánchez’s left-wing coalition government has repeatedly raised concerns about the spread of hate speech, pornography and disinformation on social media, arguing that such content has harmful effects on young people. ALSO READ: Spanish government approves draft law to crack down on AI deepfakes and image misuse.
‘Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone … We will no longer accept that,’ Sánchez said during an address to the World Government Summit in Dubai (main image), urging other European nations to adopt similar policies.
‘We will protect them from the digital Wild West,’ he added.
Australia became the first country to introduce a nationwide ban on social media for under-16s in December, a step that is being closely monitored by other governments weighing comparable age-based restrictions, including Britain and France.
Sánchez also said the government plans to present legislation next week that would make social media executives legally responsible for illegal and hate-speech content, while also criminalising algorithmic manipulation and the boosting of unlawful material.
In addition, he said prosecutors would look into potential legal violations involving Elon Musk’s Grok, as well as TikTok and Instagram. ALSO READ: Sánchez to Musk: ‘Mars can wait. Humanity can’t’ – in defence of Spain’s migrant policy.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
Social media has become a failed state.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) February 3, 2026
If we want to protect our children there is only one thing we can do: take back control.
Las redes sociales se han convertido en un Estado fallido.
Si queremos proteger a nuestros hijos, solo tenemos una opción: recuperar el control. pic.twitter.com/1MvCNxiLys
Please support us with a donation.
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.