Spain, Sanchez announces crackdown on social media: 'Ban under-16s'

Spain is preparing for one of the sharpest clampdowns in Europe against early access to social networks. The government of Pedro Sanchez has announced plans to ban the use of digital platforms by minors of 16 years old, as part of a package of five digital safety measures that will be approved 'starting next week'.

The announcement came from the World Government Summit in Dubai, where the premier denounced that 'social networks have turned into a failed state, where laws are ignored and crimes tolerated'. Words that aroused the ire of Elon Musk. "The obscene Sanchez is a tyrant and traitor to the Spanish people," was the comment of the multibillionaire on X, a platform he owns. 'We will protect our kids from the digital Wild West,' the Spanish leader promised in his speech, explaining that the tech giants will be forced to put in place effective age verification systems.

A measure envisaged in the project law for the protection of minors in digital environments, currently being examined by the Spanish Congress. The premier also announced a legislative amendment so that the CEOs of the big tech companies 'are legally responsible for crimes committed on their websites', which have become spaces of 'addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation and violence'. The initiative places Madrid in the wake of other European countries, such as France, which has already fixed 15 as the minimum age for access to social media, making it conditional on parental consent. While Portugal is considering similar restrictions.

Outside Europe, Australia has been the apripist with pioneering legislation restricting the use of social media for under-16s, imposing on web giants such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, X stringent obligations to prevent teenagers from creating or maintaining accounts, with penalties of tens of thousands of dollars for non-compliance. In the Spanish case, the clampdown on minors is part of a broader strategy to prosecute social media CEOs for failing to remove illegal content or manipulate algorithms. And to create a system to track the so-called 'footprint of hate and polarisation' in online debate.

In Italy, the debate is heated, although it is still under normative definition. Currently, the Privacy Code sets the minimum age for independent registration on platforms at 14, imposing parental consent for younger people. Among the various proposals under discussion is Bill 1217, which aims to raise the ban to 15 and introduce stricter age verification systems to protect minors from addiction, health and safety risks.