Spain Plans Social Media Ban for Under-16s, Exec Liability

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced plans Tuesday to ban social media access for children under 16 and impose criminal liability on platform executives for failing to remove illegal or hateful content, as part of broader efforts to protect young users from online harms.

Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Sánchez outlined five key measures aimed at regulating digital platforms more stringently. The proposals include requiring social media companies to implement robust age verification systems, beyond simple self-declarations, to enforce the under-16 ban. Platforms would face penalties for not preventing minors from creating accounts, and executives could be held personally accountable for content violations. Additionally, the government intends to criminalize the algorithmic amplification of illegal material and develop a "hate and polarization footprint" to measure and track how platforms contribute to division and the spread of harmful content.

"Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone, a space of addiction, abuse, explicit content, manipulation and violence," Sánchez said. "We will no longer accept that. We will...