Spain moves to ban social media access for children under 16

DUBAI: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday (local time) announced that his government plans to ban children under 16 from accessing social media platforms, citing concerns about online safety and harmful digital content, Politico reported.

Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Sanchez said social media companies would be required to introduce robust age-verification mechanisms to enforce the restriction.

“Platforms will be required to implement effective age verification systems — not just check boxes, but real barriers that work,” he said, as quoted by Politico, adding that children are currently exposed to a digital environment they are not meant to “navigate alone”.

Social media has become a failed state.

If we want to protect our children there is only one thing we can do: take back control.

Las redes sociales se han convertido en un Estado fallido.

Si queremos proteger a nuestros hijos, solo tenemos una opción: recuperar el control. pic.twitter.com/1MvCNxiLys

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) February 3, 2026

The proposed measure is expected to be approved by Spain’s Council of Ministers next week and would amend a draft bill currently under discussion in parliament.

While existing legislation seeks to limit social media access to users aged 16 and above, the revised proposal would explicitly prohibit minors from registering on such platforms, Politico reported. Spain’s move comes amid a broader European push to tighten regulations on children’s online activity.

According to Politico, Denmark has announced plans to bar under-15s from social media, while France is working toward implementing similar restrictions. In Portugal, draft legislation has been introduced that would require parental consent for minors under 16 to access social media platforms.

Sanchez said the ban forms part of a wider package of digital reforms aimed at “regaining control” of online spaces. These include proposals to hold social media executives legally accountable for content hosted on their platforms, introduce tools to track the spread of disinformation, hate speech, and child exploitation material, and criminalise the manipulation of algorithms that amplify unlawful content, according to Politico.

“We will investigate platforms whose algorithms amplify disinformation in exchange for profit,” Sanchez said, as quoted by Politico, stressing that spreading hate online must carry legal, economic, and ethical consequences.

Under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), platforms are already required to mitigate risks arising from harmful online content. Responding to Sanchez’s announcement, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the Commission works closely with EU member states to ensure child protection online, noting that enforcement actions against major platforms fall under the Commission’s mandate.

In December, the European Commission imposed a EUR 120 million fine on social media platform X for failing to meet transparency requirements, while investigations into its handling of illegal content and disinformation remain ongoing, as reported by Politico. (ANI)