Spain’s left-leaning coalition government said on Tuesday that6 it will ask prosecutors to examine X, Meta and TikTok over potential offences linked to AI-generated child sexual abuse material, as global scrutiny intensifies around the misuse of artificial intelligence.
The move comes as authorities in the UK, France, the European Union and California have opened separate investigations into sexually explicit deepfakes produced by X’s AI chatbot Grok, amid a broader debate over how artificial intelligence should be regulated.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X that his government would request the public prosecutor’s office to look into the three technology platforms for offences ‘they may be committing by creating and spreading child pornography through their AI’.
‘These platforms are harming the mental health, dignity and rights of our sons and daughters. The state cannot allow it. The impunity of (tech) giants must end,’ Sánchez wrote.
According to a statement from the prime minister’s office, one in five young people in Spain say they were victims of fake nude images generated by AI while they were minors, with girls particularly affected.
Sánchez has repeatedly criticised leading technology figures, whom he has described as ‘techno-oligarchs’, and has urged tougher rules for digital platforms to curb disinformation, violent material and pornography. ALSO READ: Spain will seek to prohibit children aged under 16 from accessing social media.
Earlier this month, he clashed publicly with Elon Musk, the owner of X, and Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, after unveiling plans to ban social media use for children under 16. ALSO READ: Musk calls Sánchez a ‘fascist totalitarian’ and ‘tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain’ in new clash.
ALSO READ: Telegram founder slams Sánchez over ‘dangerous’ plans that ‘threaten internet freedom’ for under-16s.
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Hoy, el Consejo de Ministros invocará el artículo 8 del Estatuto Orgánico del Ministerio Fiscal para pedirle que investigue los delitos que X, Meta y TikTok podrían estar cometiendo por la creación y difusión de pornografía infantil mediante sus IA.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) February 17, 2026
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