Social media

Spain considers banning TikTok

Following a report from a media outlet warning of "extremely serious" content involving child sexual abuse, the Ministry for Youth and Children has referred the matter to the public prosecution and requested a meeting with the social media platform

A boy is waiting for TikTok to load on his mobile phone. (R. C.)

Madrid

10/11/2026 Actualizado a las 06:39h.

Just a few hours after a news report revealed that images of sexual abuse of minors are being trafficked on TikTok, the Spanish government ... has announced that it is considering shutting down the platform. This could happen once the public prosecution has investigated whether the thousands of accounts exchanging and selling child abuse content actually exist and whether such activity can be classified as a criminal offence.

There are reportedly around 7,700 Spanish-speaking TikTok users, some of whom even host live streams with hundreds of participants requesting content, some of a sexual nature.

The Ministry of Youth and Children sent a letter to the attorney general's office on Monday requesting that it "take action in response to the reports published by Maldita.es regarding alleged cases of child sexual abuse on the TikTok platform and the lack of effective mechanisms on the social network to prevent the dissemination of such material".

The ministry is asking the prosecutor to "take the necessary measures to ensure the comprehensive protection of any children and young people who may be affected". Furthermore, the government is "considering the possibility of suspending the platform's services in Spain, should this be deemed appropriate".

Minister Rego has also requested an "urgent meeting" with TikTok's representatives in Spain to hear their explanations and the measures they plan to take to ensure the protection of children and young people.

The government highlighted the "extreme seriousness" of the report and of what is happening within the reach of anyone, particularly young people, who are the main users of this platform. It calls for "an immediate and coordinated response from all the relevant authorities, at both national and European level".

To some extent, the ministry attributes the state's inaction to "serious shortcomings in the mechanisms for detecting and moderating content, as well as in the role TikTok's recommendation systems play".

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