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Spain is set to implement a new policy that would restrict social media access for individuals under the age of 16. This move, announced by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, will require social media platforms to establish robust age-verification systems.
The initiative comes amid growing concerns from Sánchez’s left-wing coalition government about the detrimental impact of hate speech, pornographic material, and misinformation on young users in the digital space.
Prime Minister Sánchez, speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Tuesday, emphasized the vulnerability of minors online. “Our children are exposed to environments they are not equipped to handle alone,” he stated. “We refuse to accept this any longer.” He urged other European nations to consider similar protective measures.
“We aim to shield them from the digital Wild West,” Sánchez added, highlighting the urgent need for regulation.
This proposed ban in Spain follows a precedent set by Australia, which became the first country to prohibit social media use for those under 16 last December. The policy has prompted interest from other nations, including the United Kingdom and France, as they evaluate the possibility of introducing comparable age restrictions.
Sánchez said Spain had joined five other European countries that he dubbed the “coalition of the digitally willing” to coordinate and enforce cross-border regulation.
The coalition will hold its first meeting in the coming days, he said. Sánchez did not say which countries were in the group, and his office didn’t immediately respond to a request for clarification.
“We know that this is a battle that far exceeds the boundaries of any country,” he said.
Spain will also introduce a bill next week to hold social media executives accountable for illegal and hate-speech content, as well as to criminalise algorithmic manipulation and the amplification of illegal content, Sánchez said.
Among the measures he proposed was a system to track hate speech online, while platforms would be required to introduce age verification systems that “were not just check boxes”, he said.
His government would begin the process of passing legislation as early as next week, he said.
He added that prosecutors would explore ways to investigate possible legal infractions by Elon Musk’s Grok, TikTok and Instagram.
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