Segun Atanda/
Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has warned that social media companies have become wealthier and more powerful than many nations, including Spain, as his government unveiled one of Europe’s most aggressive regulatory offensives against digital platforms, alongside a direct accusation that Elon Musk has used X to spread disinformation.
Speaking on Tuesday at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Sánchez said governments must confront the growing power of technology firms whose influence now rivals that of states, arguing that democratic authority should not be undermined by platform algorithms, corporate wealth or individual owners.
“Social media companies are wealthier and more powerful than many nations, including mine,” Sánchez said. “But their might and power should not scare us because our determination is greater than their pockets.”
Under a five-point package set to begin “starting next week”, Spain will move to amend its laws to hold platform executives personally liable for infringements committed on their services.
The proposals would also make “algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content a new criminal offence”, directly targeting the systems that drive visibility and engagement online.
Spain will also introduce a nationwide ban on social media access for children under the age of 16, with platforms required to implement effective age-verification systems. “Not just checkboxes, but real barriers that work,” Sánchez said.
Another key measure is the creation of a “hate and polarisation footprint”, a monitoring framework designed to quantify how platforms contribute to social division through the amplification of inflammatory or misleading content.
Sánchez used stark language to describe the current digital environment. “Social media has become a failed state, a place where laws are ignored and where disinformation is worth more than truth,” he said.
The prime minister also singled out Elon Musk, accusing the owner of X of personally amplifying false claims about Spain’s decision to regularise approximately 500,000 undocumented migrants.
“The owner of X, himself a migrant, used his personal account to amplify disinformation about the sovereign decision of my government to regularise 500,000 migrants who live, work, and contribute to the success of our country,” Sánchez said.
Spanish prosecutors are examining potential legal breaches involving Grok, TikTok and Instagram, Sánchez confirmed, signalling that enforcement action could proceed alongside the drafting of new legislation.
Spain has also joined five other European countries in what Sánchez described as the “Coalition of the Digitally Willing”, aimed at coordinating cross-border enforcement.
He said the group’s first meeting would take place in the coming days, stressing that regulation “far exceeds the boundaries of any country”.
Madrid’s approach follows Australia’s landmark ban on social media use by children under 16, which came into force in December 2025 and carries fines of up to $33 million for companies that fail to remove underage users.
Britain and France are also weighing similar measures.
By pairing executive liability with criminal sanctions for algorithmic amplification, Spain is seeking to move beyond fines and towards direct accountability, escalating a confrontation with global technology companies and high-profile platform owners such as Musk.
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