Spanish authorities intend to ban people under 16 years old from using social networks. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke about this when speaking at the leaders' summit in the UAE. The politician's words were quoted by The Guardian.
“Spain will ban access to social media for minors under 16. Platforms will be required to implement effective age verification systems, not just checkboxes but real, workable barriers,” Sanchez said.
The Prime Minister noted that children today find themselves in spaces where they should never have been alone. This is a space of addiction, violence, pornography, manipulation and cruelty. And the Spanish authorities no longer intend to tolerate this.
The Spanish government will force platforms to implement strict age verification methods and will introduce legislation next week to hold social media operators responsible for illegal and hateful content.
Sánchez said Spain has joined five other European countries, which he called the “Alliance of Digital Champions,” to coordinate and enforce cross-border regulations. The alliance will hold its first meeting in the coming days. However, the Prime Minister did not specify which countries were included in this list.
Last December, Australia restricted access to social networks for children under 16 years old. As a result, major social networks all recorded a clear decline in audience numbers.
