MADRID (Feb 3): Spain plans to ban access to social media for minors under 16 and platforms will be required to implement age-verification systems, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday as he announced several measures to guarantee a safe digital environment. Sanchez's left-wing coalition government has repeatedly complained about the proliferation of hate speech, pornographic content and disinformation on social media, saying it had negative effects on young people. Australia in December became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, a move being closely watched by other countries considering similar age-based measures, such as Britain and France. Sanchez said Spain had joined five other European countries that he dubbed the "Coalition of the Digitally Willing” to coordinate and enforce cross-border regulation. Spain will also introduce a bill next week to hold social media executives accountable for illegal and hate-speech content, as well as to criminalise algorithmic manipulation and the amplification of illegal content, Sanchez said.

Source: The Edge Markets February 03, 2026 09:55 UTC