“Starting next week, my government will implement the following actions.
First: we will change the law in Spain to hold platform executives legally accountable for many infringements taking place on their sites.
Second: we will turn algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content into a new criminal offense.
Third: we will implement a ‘Hate and Polarization Footprint.’ A system to track, quantify, and expose how digital platforms fuel division and amplify hate.
Fourth: Spain will ban access to social media for minors under the age of 16. Platforms will be required to implement effective age verification systems — not just checkboxes, but real barriers that work.
Fifth and last: my government will work with our public prosecutor to investigate and pursue the infringements committed by Grok, TikTok and Instagram.”
Context and status
Sánchez framed social media as a “failed state” / “digital Wild West” where laws are ignored, illegal content (including AI-generated sexualized images of minors) proliferates, and platforms amplify hate and disinformation for profit. He positioned the package as reclaiming “digital sovereignty.”
- The under-16 ban and stronger age verification were to be pursued via an amendment to the already-pending Organic Law on the Protection of Minors in Digital Environments (then before Congress). Spain was aligning with similar moves in Australia, France, and others.
- Executive liability and criminalizing algorithmic amplification of illegal content require changes to the criminal code.
- The “Hate and Polarization Footprint” (later branded HODIO) is a tracking/quantification tool intended to create transparency and a basis for future sanctions; a version was later presented publicly.
- The specific call to investigate Grok (xAI/X’s AI), TikTok, and Instagram referenced concerns over AI-generated sexualized/child content, data practices, and other alleged violations. Spain said it would work with the public prosecutor’s office (Fiscalía).
Implementation was announced as beginning “next week” (from the February speech), but full legislative passage depends on Spain’s parliament. Later reporting in 2026 shows the minors’ protection bill faced the usual political and EU-coordination delays (including broader EU efforts toward a “Kids Act”), so not every element advanced on the original timeline.
