Spain has become the latest European country to propose banning social media use for children under 16, a move aimed at creating a safer digital environment for minors.

"We will protect them from the digital wilderness," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on February 3 at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

The social media ban for children under 16 has not yet taken effect and still requires approval from the Spanish parliament. The ban is a key part of a series of digital reforms, which, in addition to age restrictions, also explicitly require social media company executives to be held accountable for "illegal or harmful content" appearing on their platforms.

Globally, Australia took the lead last year, becoming the first country in the world to implement such a ban on social media for minors. The effectiveness of its policy is being closely monitored and evaluated by other countries, providing a reference for the development of relevant policies in other nations.

Within Europe, several countries have followed this trend: France, Denmark, and Austria have all officially announced that they are studying and developing their own age restriction policies for minors using social media; the British government has launched a consultation to widely solicit opinions on whether to implement a social media ban for those under 16.

The social media industry generally opposes such bans. Relevant companies argue that these bans are not only ineffective but also difficult to implement, and may even lead to the isolation of vulnerable young people. Reddit has already taken legal action, filing a lawsuit in the High Court to challenge Australia's previously implemented social media ban for minors. Sanchez further explained the rationale behind the ban, stating, "Our children are now exposed to a space they shouldn't be exploring alone." In his view, social media has become a place rife with "addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, and violence."

"We will no longer accept this situation. We will protect them."

In fact, Sanchez first mentioned the possibility of such a ban last November, and at the World Government Summit on February 3rd, he elaborated on the plan, clarifying several accompanying enforcement measures.

According to the reform plan, all social media platforms will be mandated to establish effective age verification systems. "Not just checkboxes, but truly effective barriers," Sanchez explained, seemingly alluding to loopholes in Australia's previous ban, where children successfully bypassed age checks by using adult photos.

In addition to age verification, the new law will also explicitly stipulate that manipulating algorithms to amplify illegal content will be considered a criminal offense, and those responsible will be held legally accountable.

Sanchez emphasized: "This is something that some people are creating, promoting, and disseminating, and we will investigate this, as well as the platforms that use algorithms to amplify misinformation for profit."

"Hiding behind code and claiming that technology is neutral is no longer acceptable."

Furthermore, the Spanish government plans to establish a new regulatory system, the core purpose of which is to track "how digital platforms contribute to division and amplify hatred." However, details regarding the specific operating mechanisms and implementation procedures of this system have not yet been released.

Sanchez also revealed that another important measure is to "investigate and prosecute the crimes committed by Grok (X's AI tool), TikTok, and Instagram."

It is worth noting that several countries and regions have already launched regulatory investigations into Grok: the European Commission has initiated an investigation into Grok, primarily due to concerns that the AI software is being used to create realistic images of people; the British government has also announced a related investigation into Grok. Meanwhile, on February 3rd, the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor's office raided X's offices, targeting X for alleged illegal data extraction, conspiracy to possess child pornography, and other offenses. Previously, Company X responded to the French investigation, characterizing it as an undue attack on freedom of speech.

Sanchez stated that he hopes to push for the passage of these related bills next week, but achieving this goal may face considerable difficulties—his left-wing coalition government does not hold a majority in the Spanish parliament, and the bills require support from more parties.

Regarding the attitudes of Spanish domestic parties, the main opposition party, the conservative People's Party, seems to support the ban and stated that it had previously proposed similar restrictions on social media use by minors; however, the far-right party Vox has openly opposed the ban, becoming one of the obstacles in the bill's progress.