Khaberni - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday that access for minors under the age of 16 to social media will be banned, and added that his country will require platforms to implement age verification systems, as part of announcing several measures to ensure a safe digital environment.
The leftist coalition government led by Sanchez has repeatedly complained about the spread of hate speech, pornographic content, and misleading information on social media, saying that it negatively affects minors.
In a speech during the World Government Summit in Dubai, Sanchez said: "Our children are exposed to an environment they were not supposed to browse alone... We will no longer accept this," calling on other European countries to implement similar measures, and added: "We will protect them from the digital Wild West."
In December (December), Australia became the first country to ban social media for minors under the age of 16, a step closely monitored by other countries considering implementing similar age-based measures, such as Britain and France.
Sanchez continued that his government will also introduce a new bill next week to hold social media officials accountable for illegal content and hate speech, as well as to criminalize the manipulation of algorithms and the amplification of illegal content.
He added that prosecutors will explore ways to investigate possible legal violations by companies owned by Elon Musk, Tick Tock, and Instagram.
