Spain Plans Social Media Restrictions for Under-16s, Following UK's Lead
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez revealed plans to introduce new legislative measures affecting social media companies beginning next week, including possible criminal prosecution of platform executives.
According to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the nation intends to prohibit children younger than 16 years old from accessing social media and mandate that platforms put in place age verification mechanisms as part of efforts to enforce protective measures in what he described as the "digital Wild West."
During his address at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday, Sánchez stated that Spain would mandate "real barriers that work" for social media platforms as part of efforts to limit minors' access to these services. The Spanish leader indicated that authorities in his country intended to pursue criminal liability against executives of platforms for violations concerning the failure to remove "illegal or hateful" content from their services.
"Today, our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone. Space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, violence. We will no longer accept that. We will protect them from the digital Wild West."
Pedro Sánchez
According to the prime minister, implementation of the new laws would commence next week. Sánchez explained that these plans formed part of a broader initiative to combat disinformation on social media platforms stemming from "algorithmic manipulation and amplification," while also revealing investigations into Elon Musk's Grok, Instagram and TikTok platforms.
The announcement by Sánchez followed approximately two weeks after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated his willingness to explore the possibility of implementing a social media ban for minors. In December, Australian authorities started requiring social media platforms to prohibit minors under 16 from maintaining accounts on their services.
Spanish regulators begin MiCA transition for crypto platforms
Being a member state within the European Union, Spain falls under the jurisdiction of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework that was passed in 2023. This legislation, designed to create a comprehensive regulatory framework and set of laws for cryptocurrency platforms conducting operations in the EU, provides crypto companies that were already operating before December 2024 a deadline of June 30 to achieve MiCA compliance or discontinue their service offerings.
In December, Spain's national securities regulator published its requirements for cryptocurrency companies, outlining authorizations, notifications and compliance obligations under MiCA regulations.