Spain will join the growing list of countries banning children from accessing social media, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said. announcement Tuesday. The law will apply to users under 16 as part of a broader campaign to hold social media companies accountable for hate speech, social division and illegal content.
Speaking At the World Government Summit in Dubai, Prime Minister Sanchez blasted social media, calling it a “failed state” where “laws are ignored and crime is endured.” He spoke about the importance of digital governance for these platforms, highlighting recent incidents like X’s Grok AI chatbot. generator sexualized images of children, Meta “spying” on Android users and the myriad election interference campaigns which took place on Facebook.
In light of what Sanchez called the “integral” role social media plays in young users’ lives, he said the best way to help them is to “take back control.” Next week, his government will enact a series of new regulations, including a ban on users under 16. Social media companies will be required to implement what he calls “effective age verification systems” and “not just tick boxes”. No specific timetable for the implementation of the next ban has been announced.
Spain will also make “algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content” a new criminal offense and Sanchez says tech CEOs will be held criminally liable for any hateful or illegal content on their platforms. The Prime Minister further announced that Spain had formed a coalition with five other unnamed European countries to implement stricter governance on social media platforms.
Sanchez said children were “exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone” and it was up to the government to intervene. He added that social media has no longer fulfilled its promise of being a “tool for global understanding and cooperation.”
Australia banned access to social media for under-16s last year, prompting many countries to follow suit. It is under active consideration in the United Kingdom, while Denmark And Malaysia have announced their intention to enact similar bans.
This article was originally published on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/spain-set-to-ban-social-media-for-children-under-16-151546884.html?src=rss
