The Government endorses Pedro Sánchez's proposal to ban social media for minors under 16.

The Government views favorably the proposal of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to prohibit access to social networks for minors under 16 years of ageAccording to a statement made this Tuesday by the Minister of Education and Universities, Antoni Vera, the government is committed to implementing a ban on mobile phones on screens in the Balearic Islands. Vera emphasized the importance of establishing clear mechanisms for the measure to be effectively applied in the islands. He stated that he was "in complete agreement" with the measure and reiterated the government's hope that the situation would not repeat itself, as with the mobile phone ban, which was left to regional regulations after its national approval, and which the Balearic Islands had ultimately implemented through a specific order. The minister explained that the government wants to see how the new legal proposal will be processed and implemented, as well as how it can be applied in the islands, stressing the importance of having clear mechanisms for its implementation within the territory.

She also highlighted other initiatives already implemented in the Balearic Islands along these lines, such as the ban on digital screens up to the fourth grade of primary school and the launch of an awareness campaign for families about the risks of the "harmful overuse" of digital devices, which will be rolled out in the coming months. Despite her positive assessment, Vera considered the announcement to be "just another smokescreen" by President Sánchez, since the People's Party had already submitted an amendment to the law on the protection of minors in digital environments to propose a similar ban. Sánchez made the announcement during his speech at the World Government Summit in Dubai, where he indicated that the government will approve the measure next week in the Council of Ministers. The proposal includes, among other things, requiring platforms to implement effective age verification systems and creating a tracking and tracing system to combat hateful and illegal content. It will also address potential legal violations by platforms such as Grok, TikTok, and Instagram.

Age verification systems

In this way, Sánchez wants to force digital platforms to implement effective age verification systems, as well as create a "tracking, quantification, and traceability" system that will allow for the establishment of a "trace of hate and polarization." "Our children are exposed to a space where they should never navigate alone, a space of addiction, abuse, violence, pornography, and manipulation. We will no longer tolerate it; we will protect them from this." far west "digital," he stated.

With this tool to track hate, Sánchez intends to "quantify" these manifestations on social media as a basis for future sanctions, since, he affirms, spreading hate must have a legal, economic, and ethical cost that platforms can no longer afford to ignore. He added, "We will have zero tolerance in these matters and will defend our digital sovereignty against any kind of foreign coercion."

With these measures, Sánchez wants digital platforms to be "legally responsible" for the "violations" that take place and, therefore, for the CEOs of these companies to face criminal liability if they fail to remove hateful or illegal content. He also seeks to make the manipulation of algorithms and the amplification of illegal content a criminal offense. Disinformation, he asserts, is created and disseminated by certain actors whom the Catalan government intends to investigate. "It's time to stop hiding behind code and to stop claiming that technology is neutral," he emphasized. Sánchez lamented that social media has become a "failed state," where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated, "where disinformation is valued more than the truth and half of the users suffer hate attacks," despite the fact that, in principle, it should be a tool for understanding. "A failed state where algorithms distort public debate and where our data and images are distorted and sold," he remarked.

Clash with Musk over immigration

In this regard, Sánchez has directly pointed the finger at several companies, such as TikTok, accused of tolerating accounts that share "child pornography generated by artificial intelligence." He also directly criticized Elon Musk, the owner of TikTok, with whom he had a heated exchange on social media last weekend. Musk criticized Sánchez's announced measure to regularize half a million migrants residing in Spain, and this Tuesday the president rebuked him for using his account "to amplify disinformation about a sovereign decision" of the government. He also criticized Musk for his artificial intelligence tool, Grok, generating illegal sexual content. Sánchez also attacked Instagram, "accused of spying on millions of Android users worldwide," and Facebook for interfering in disinformation campaigns during national and regional elections.

"All these cases are real and recent, and represent only the tip of the iceberg, a small example of the many crimes and abuses that occur every day on social media," he warned.

Alliance of European countries

Therefore, he believes governments must "regain control" and ensure that platforms comply with regulations like everyone else. He admits it won't be easy, as these companies are wealthier than many countries, but urges people not to be afraid: "Our determination is greater than their wealth." He added that Spain has joined forces with five other European countries in a "digitally ready" coalition to impose stricter, faster, and more effective regulations on social media. This coalition will hold its first meeting in the coming days and will implement coordinated actions at a multinational level.