Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced a sweeping set of legislative actions designed to tighten control over social media platforms and protect citizens from what he termed the “digital Wild West.” Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday, Sánchez outlined a government strategy that includes holding technology executives personally accountable for content violations and criminalizing the manipulation of algorithms.
Starting next week, the Spanish government will introduce a bill containing two primary pillars of enforcement against digital platforms. “First, we will change the law in Spain to hold platform executives legally accountable for many infringements taking place on their sites,” Sánchez stated. This measure aims to pierce the veil of corporate immunity, ensuring that leadership at major social media companies can face criminal charges if their platforms fail to remove illegal or hateful content.
“Second, we will turn algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content into a new criminal offense,” Sánchez continued. This specific provision targets the underlying mechanics of social media feeds, which often prioritize sensational or polarizing content to maximize user engagement. By criminalizing these algorithmic practices, the Spanish government intends to penalize the automated spread of disinformation, hate speech, and illicit material, asserting that “spreading hate must come at a cost.”
In addition to these structural changes, the Prime Minister revealed plans to ban access to social media for all minors under the age of 16. To enforce this, platforms will be required to implement robust age-verification systems that go beyond simple “check boxes,” creating real barriers to entry for underage users. Sánchez emphasized that children are currently exposed to a digital environment rife with addiction, pornography, and violence, describing the current state of social networks as a “failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated.”
The legislative push also includes the creation of a system to track hate speech online and establishes a “Coalition of the Digitally Willing” with five other unnamed European nations to coordinate cross-border regulation. Sánchez noted that prosecutors would explore ways to investigate potential legal infractions by specific platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and the AI tool Grok, particularly regarding the generation and spread of non-consensual images.
“We are going to defend our digital sovereignty against any foreign interference,” Sánchez declared, acknowledging the immense power and wealth of social media conglomerates but insisting that their influence “should not frighten us.” The reforms mark one of the most aggressive regulatory stances taken by a European nation to date, signaling a significant shift in how governments may police the intersection of technology, free speech, and public safety in the coming years.
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