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Original article: Espa\u00f1a va con mano dura: castigos penales a CEOs de plataformas digitales y veto de RR.SS. para menores de 16<\/a><\/p>\n The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro S\u00e1nchez<\/a>, opened a new front on Thursday against misinformation and illicit content that he claims is rampant on social media, contributing to the rise of far-right movements globally.<\/p>\n During his speech at the Global Governments Summit in Dubai, focusing on digitalization, S\u00e1nchez announced that the Council of Ministers will approve a legislative package next Tuesday aimed at significantly tightening regulations for digital platforms. The offensive is built around two main pillars: criminal liability for CEOs of these companies for disseminating illegal content and an explicit ban on social media access for all under-16s.<\/p>\n \u00abLast year I went to Davos to warn governments about the dangers of social media, and today I am here in Dubai to tell them that Spain will take action, will fight, and will continue to do so,\u00bb the leader began.<\/p>\n \u201cSocial media has become a failed state where laws are ignored, crimes are tolerated, misinformation is valued over truth, and half of users suffer hate attacks,\u201d he stated, outlining the rationale for the measures.<\/p>\n The government\u2019s declared objective is to lead the way in this struggle, even surpassing current initiatives being processed in the European Union.<\/p>\n \u201cPlatforms will have to implement effective age verification measures, real barriers that work,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The most striking measure is the introduction of direct criminal liability for the CEOs of major platforms. Through an organic law, the Spanish government will pursue legal action against figures like Elon Musk (X, formerly Twitter) or Mark Zuckerberg (Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram) if their platforms do not remove illegal content, such as child pornography.<\/p>\n \u00abWe will amend legislation in Spain so that executives of these platforms are legally accountable for the multiple violations occurring on their sites,\u00bb he stated.<\/p>\n \u00abThis means that the CEOs of these tech platforms will face criminal liability if they fail to remove hate speech or illegal content,\u00bb he added.<\/p>\n This initiative is inspired by actions taken in France, which in 2023 criminalized the malicious manipulation of algorithms. In fact, French prosecutors raided X\u2019s headquarters in Paris on Tuesday and summoned Musk for alleged algorithmic manipulation.<\/p>\n \u00abMisinformation does not arise from nothing,\u00bb S\u00e1nchez emphasized, linking the actions of platforms to social effects.<\/p>\n The legal offensive does not end there. The President also urged the Attorney General\u2019s Office to investigate crimes committed through artificial intelligence systems such as Grok (X\u2019s AI), Meta, or TikTok.<\/p>\n \u00abWe will defend our digital sovereignty against any foreign interference,\u00bb he warned, citing the shocking case of Grok, which has reportedly generated three million sexualized images, including 23,000 of minors, prompting Brussels to open an investigation into this tool and X for creating non-consensual pornographic images.<\/p>\n The second pillar of the package is the protection of minors. The government will implement a ban on social media access for anyone under 16.<\/p>\n Platforms will be legally required to impose robust age verification mechanisms. This measure will be formalized through an amendment to the Child Protection in Digital Environments Bill, which is currently under parliamentary review.<\/p>\n \u00abSome may say that if we don\u2019t like them, we can leave them. They are right. For many of us, this remains an option, but for our children and many citizens, it does not. Social media has become an essential part of their lives,\u00bb S\u00e1nchez argued, justifying the need to establish this barrier.<\/p>\n Simultaneously, an innovative tracking, quantifying, and traceability system will be created to establish a \u2018Hate and Polarization Footprint\u2019 for each platform.<\/p>\n According to reports from El Diario.es<\/a>, government sources explained that \u00abthe aim is to transform an opaque phenomenon into a quantifiable and assessable element, creating a ranking from worst to best platforms regarding the presence of hate and polarization on them.\u00bb <\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez reminded that over half of social media users experience hate attacks.<\/p>\n \u00abThis tool will be the basis for determining future sanctions,\u00bb he indicated, while asserting that \u201csocial media has become a failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5 S\u00e1nchez: \u00abSpain will ban access to social media for those under 16 years old. Platforms will have to implement effective age control measures\u00bb pic.twitter.com\/zEFsWFTGYo<\/a><\/p>\n\u00abCurrently, our children are exposed to a space where they should never navigate alone, a space of addiction, abuse, violence, pornography, and manipulation. We will not tolerate it any longer; we will protect them against this digital Wild West,\u00bb stated Spain\u2019s President Pedro S\u00e1nchez.<\/span><\/h4>\n
Criminal Liability for CEOs<\/span><\/h3>\n
Ban on Social Media for Under-16s in Spain and the \u2018Hate Footprint\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n
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