JAKARTA - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has insisted his government will not be swayed by pressure from global tech bosses over plans to ban social media for children under 16. Sanchez even accused "tech oligarchs" of spreading lies to protect their interests.
Citing a Reuters report, Thursday, February 5, Sanchez stated that large technology companies would not be able to influence the determination of the Spanish government to tighten social media rules. This includes limiting children's access and cracking down on hate speech on digital platforms.
"Democracy is clearly not going to be influenced by a technological oligarchy that controls algorithms," Sanchez said at an event in Madrid. "Just yesterday they spoke to millions of people through their platforms to spread lies."
The statement came after Telegram founder Pavel Durov and X owner Elon Musk publicly criticized Spain's plan. Durov on Wednesday, February 4, opposed Sanchez's policy of wanting to ban social media access for users under 16 years of age and open up the possibility of prosecuting platform executives if there is hate speech.
A day earlier, Musk even called Sanchez a "tyrant and traitor to the Spanish people" through a post on his X account.
Spain is following in the footsteps of a number of European countries such as the United Kingdom, Greece, and France that are considering a tougher stance on social media. This step was strengthened after Australia in December became the first country in the world to officially ban children under 16 from accessing social media platforms.
Durov, in a message sent to all Telegram users in Spain, warned that the bill would force social media platforms to collect data on all users and open the door for the government to control what netizens see.
However, the Spanish government actually assessed Durov's message as strong evidence of the need for stricter regulations.
"The mass message shows how urgent it is to regulate social media and messaging apps, in order to protect citizens from misleading information," the Spanish government statement said.
Sanchez himself is known as one of the most vocal European left-wing leaders to criticize major technology platforms. Since the beginning of last year, he has been pushing for the elimination of anonymity on social media as well as proposing that user data be linked to the EU's digital identity wallet.
With this tough stance, the Spanish government insists that child protection and the quality of democracy are the top priorities, even if it has to face the world's technology giants directly.
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