After Australia, Spain to ban social media for users aged under 16

Social media

• Spain plans to ban social media for users under 16 and introduce strict new laws
• Tech executives may be held personally liable for illegal and hateful content
• Spain joins Australia in pushing for tougher child online safety regulations

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After Australia, Spain is set to take a tough stand on children’s use of social media. The Spanish government plans to ban access to social media platforms for users under the age of 16 and introduce strict laws to hold top tech executives personally accountable for illegal and hateful content on their platforms, according to Reuters.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the move while speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, saying children are being left to navigate digital spaces that were never designed for them. He described the internet today as a “digital Wild West” and said governments can no longer look the other way.

Spain’s proposal comes just weeks after Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16. Since the Australian ban took effect, social media companies there have already deactivated nearly five million teenage accounts, according to the country’s internet regulator, showing how wide-ranging the impact of such a move can be.

Sanchez said Spain is now working with other European nations under what he called a “Coalition of the Digitally Willing” to push for tighter, cross-border regulation of social media platforms. While he did not name the countries involved, he stressed that the problem goes beyond national borders and needs coordinated action across Europe.

The Spanish government plans to introduce a bill as early as next week. The proposed law would make social media executives legally responsible for hate speech and illegal content on their platforms. It would also criminalise algorithmic manipulation and the deliberate amplification of harmful content. Platforms would be required to implement serious age-verification systems, rather than simple checkbox declarations.

Spain is also planning systems to track hate speech online, and prosecutors will explore whether legal action is needed against platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, as well as Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok. The debate has intensified following reports of AI-generated non-consensual sexual images, including those involving minors.

Across Europe, governments are already grappling with how to regulate online platforms. The European Union’s Digital Services Act, which took full effect in 2024, requires platforms to moderate content, though critics warn this could blur the line between regulation and censorship.

Public opinion in Spain appears to support tougher rules. An Ipsos survey published last year found that more than 80% of Spaniards believe children under 14 should be banned from social media, both inside and outside schools.

With Spain now following Australia’s lead, pressure is mounting on other countries to decide how far they are willing to go to protect children online.