Spain social media ban: PM Sánchez announces under-16 restrictions

Spain will ban access to social media for minors under 16 years of age and platforms will be obliged to implement age-verification systems.

This was the statement made this Tuesday by Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who took advantage of his presence at a forum in Dubai to outline some of the measures that his government will try to put forward with the aim of guaranteeing a safe digital environment for the country's youth.

"Our children are exposed to a space where they should never have to navigate alone. We will no longer accept this," declared Sánchez in his speech at the World Governments Summit 2026 in Dubai. He also urged other European countries to implement similar measures.

The Spanish government has repeatedly complained about the proliferation of hate speech, pornographic content and misinformation on social media, arguing that it has negative effects on young people. "We will protect them from the digital Wild West," the PM stated.

At the end of March last year, the council of senior ministers in Madrid approved the draft law for the protection of minors in the digital sphere. Among a wide range of measures, it raises the minimum age in Spain to open a social media account or subscribe to any type of platform from 14 to 16 years of age. Under-16s will only be able to do so with the explicit authorisation of their parents or legal guardians, according to the draft law that central government will try to push through.

Furthermore, the government intends to work with the public prosecutor's office in Spain to explore ways to investigate potential legal violations by companies such as Grok, TikTok and Instagram.

Last December, Australia became the first country to ban social media for the under-16s. This measure is being closely monitored by other countries considering similar age-based restrictions, such as the UK and France.