Spain plans ban on social media access for children under 16

Spain’s government has announced plans to introduce a legal ban on social media use for children under 16, with draft legislation expected to be presented in the coming days. The announcement was made by Pedro Sánchez, who said the measure is intended to address growing concerns about the impact of online platforms on children.

According to the Prime Minister, children are exposed to a range of online risks, including addictive design practices, abuse, sexually explicit material, manipulation, and violent content. He argued that these risks should not be treated as an unavoidable side effect of digital services and that stronger safeguards are necessary to protect minors.

Under the planned legislation, social media platforms would be required to introduce effective age-verification systems. The government has indicated that these systems should function as real barriers, rather than relying on self-declaration or easily bypassed checks. The aim is to ensure that children below the legal age cannot access social media services intended for older users.

The proposal would also introduce new liability rules for platform operators. Spain’s government has signalled its intention to make company executives legally responsible if unlawful or hateful content remains on their platforms and is not removed as required by law. This would represent a significant tightening of accountability at national level.

Spain’s move comes amid wider debate in the EU about children’s access to social media. Other countries, including France and Denmark, are considering similar restrictions or stronger controls to protect minors online. In France, national rules to limit children under 15’s access to social media are currently being finalised.

At EU level, the European Commission has adopted guidelines under the Digital Services Act that allow member states to define a so-called “digital age of majority”. This enables countries to set a minimum age for accessing social media platforms, provided national measures remain compatible with EU law. At the same time, the Commission has cautioned against national rules that go beyond what is necessary or interfere with the EU’s enforcement powers over the largest platforms.

Separately, the Commission is testing a prototype age-verification application with several EU countries, including Spain. The tool is intended to support age checks without requiring platforms to collect excessive personal data, with a broader rollout expected next year.