Khaberni - Spain has announced a new measure aimed at enhancing the safety of children and adolescents in the digital space, where Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez revealed that his country plans to ban the use of social media for those under 16, with digital platforms required to implement strict age verification systems, according to Reuters.
The announcement came during a speech delivered by Sánchez on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai, where he emphasized that children were being exposed to content not suitable for their ages, stating: "Our children are facing a digital environment that they should not have been navigating on their own… and we will not accept the continuation of this situation."
The prime minister clarified that this step is part of a broader package of measures to ensure a safer digital environment, amid growing concerns about the spread of hate speech, pornographic content, and misinformation on social platforms, and their accompanying negative psychological and social effects on minors.
Sánchez described the current digital space as "the wild west", affirming that his government is committed to ending this chaos and calling other European countries to adopt similar measures to protect young generations.
In the same context, he announced that the Spanish government will introduce a new bill next week, aiming to make social media companies responsible for illegal content and hate speech, in addition to criminalizing the manipulation of algorithms that contribute to amplifying this type of content.
Sánchez also mentioned that the public prosecutor would also investigate potential legal violations by prominent platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and Grok owned by businessman Elon Musk.
The Spanish move comes after Australia became the first country in December last year to ban the use of social media for those under 16, in an experiment being followed by other countries such as the UK and France, amidst a rising global debate on protecting children in the digital age.
