Spanish PM Slams Social Media Sites as "Failed State", Vows to Tighten Grip

Spain has launched one of Europe’s most sweeping regulatory pushes against social media, combining a youth access ban with criminal penalties for algorithmic practices and personal liability for platform executives.

Speaking Tuesday in Dubai on the World Government Summit, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez framed the package as a response to what he called a breakdown in online governance, pairing child protection with enforcement tools aimed at hate speech, disinformation and platform amplification.

A Five-Point Digital Offensive

Sánchez said his government will move “starting next week” on five measures. These include changing Spanish law to hold platform executives legally accountable for infringements on their sites, turning “algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content into a new criminal offense,” and rolling out a hate and polarization footprint system to track how platforms fuel division.

Spain will also “ban access to social media for minors under the age of 16,” with platforms required to deploy effective age verification systems, “not just checkboxes, but real barriers that work.”

Prosecutors will pursue alleged infringements involving Grok, TikTok and Instagram, he said.

The prime minister sharpened his critique with unusually blunt language. “Social media has become a failed state, a place where laws are ignored and where disinformation is worth more than truth,” Sánchez said.

Sánchez also added social media companies are wealthier and more powerful than many countries, including Spain, but stressed that his government would move forward with enforcement regardless.

Our determination is greater than their pockets.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez

Executive Liability and Algorithms

Beyond youth protections, the centerpiece is personal accountability for executives and criminal exposure for algorithmic practices that amplify illegal content.

Sánchez also accused the owner of X, Elon Musk, of using a personal account to spread falsehoods about Spain’s decision to regularize 500,000 migrants, underscoring Madrid’s view that platform influence now intersects directly with sovereign policy choices.

Spain will introduce legislation as early as next week, while its public prosecutor examines potential legal breaches tied to Grok, TikTok and Instagram.

Sánchez said Spain has joined five other European countries in what he called the “Coalition of the Digitally Willing,” aimed at coordinating cross-border enforcement. He did not name the partners but said the group’s first meeting will take place in the coming days, emphasizing that regulation “far exceeds the boundaries of any country.”

Europe Coordinates, Australia Sets Precedent

Madrid’s move follows Australia’s landmark ban on children under 16 across major platforms including Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Reddit. That law took effect on Dec 9, 2025, with companies facing fines of up to $33 million for failing to remove underage users.

Sánchez pointed to the Australian model as evidence that age-based restrictions can be enforced at scale, while Britain and France are also weighing similar steps.

Spain’s package layers national criminal law atop EU coordination, targeting both content outcomes and the systems that drive them. The hate and polarization footprint is designed to quantify amplification patterns, while age verification mandates seek to close what Sánchez described as a long-standing loophole in platform compliance.

From Rhetoric to Enforcement

The government argues the combined approach is necessary to counter hate speech, pornographic material and organized disinformation, all of which it says disproportionately harm young users.

By pairing executive liability with algorithmic offenses, Madrid is attempting to move beyond fines toward direct accountability. The inclusion of specific platforms - Grok, TikTok and Instagram - signals an enforcement-first posture as Spain prepares draft legislation and prosecutorial action in parallel.