Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has stated that the proposed censorship laws are targeted at Elon Musk
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Tuesday that Spain will prohibit social media use for children under 16 and hold tech executives personally responsible for “hateful content” disseminated on their platforms.
During his address at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Sanchez mentioned that his government will enforce five measures to regulate social media, which will have far-reaching implications for free speech.
“First, we will amend Spanish law to hold platform executives legally responsible for numerous violations occurring on their sites,” he declared, clarifying that executives who do not remove “criminal or hateful content” will face criminal prosecution.
Most legal jurisdictions regard social media sites as ‘platforms’ rather than ‘publishers’, meaning users are individually responsible for the content they share. Sanchez’s proposed change extends beyond the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires fines for platforms that neglect to remove “disinformation” after being notified.
Sanchez did not clarify what qualifies as “hateful content,” and the DSA text does not define the term “disinformation” either.
Sanchez noted that his government would also criminalize “algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content,” monitor and analyze “how digital platforms stoke division and amplify hate,” prohibit social media use for those under 16, and initiate a criminal probe into alleged violations by Grok, TikTok, and Instagram.
During his speech, Sanchez specifically called out X owner Elon Musk, accusing the billionaire of spreading “disinformation” regarding his decision to grant amnesty to half a million illegal immigrants the previous week. On Sunday, Musk accused Spanish MEP Irene Montero of “advocating genocide” after she stated her desire for a “replacement of right-wingers” with migrants.
Sanchez stated that five other European countries, which he referred to as a “coalition of the digitally willing,” would enact comparable legislation. France passed a more limited bill last week banning those under 15 from social media, and Greece is “very close” to announcing a similar ban, according to a Tuesday Reuters report.