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Elon Musk launched a sharp attack on Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez after Spain proposed banning children under 16 from using social media, a move aimed at curbing harmful and hateful online content and tightening regulation of technology platforms.
The proposal is part of a broader package of measures being prepared by Sánchez’s government to strengthen digital protections for minors. Speaking on Tuesday, Sánchez said urgent action was needed to protect children from what he described as the “digital wild west”, adding that social media had become a “failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated”.
Musk responded on X by calling Sánchez a “tyrant” and later escalated his criticism, posting: “Dirty Sánchez is a tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain.”
About 90 minutes later, he added: “Sánchez is the true fascist totalitarian.”
Sanchez defends proposal
Sanchez also criticised Musk for using X to “amplify disinformation” following Spain’s recent decision to regularise 500,000 undocumented workers and asylum seekers, noting that Musk himself was a migrant.“Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone … We will no longer accept that,” Sánchez said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai.
“We will protect them from the digital wild west.”The proposed ban would be introduced through amendments to an existing bill on digital protection for minors currently being debated in parliament, a government spokesperson said.
Europe toughens stance on social media
Spain’s move comes amid a broader hardening of attitudes across Europe over children’s use of social media. Greece is close to announcing a similar ban for children under 15, a senior government source cited by The Guardian said, while Britain and France are also considering tougher measures.
Australia became the first country to prohibit social media access for children under 16 in December.Sánchez said Spain was part of a group of six European nations – which he called a “coalition of the digitally willing” – seeking to coordinate cross-border regulation, though he did not name the countries.
Tech firms, experts weigh in
Representatives of Google, TikTok, Snapchat and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Spain’s proposals.Diana Diaz, director of the ANAR Foundation for at-risk children and adolescents, said the regulation would give parents clearer backing to set limits and ease social pressure on children worried about missing out.However, Jose Cesar Perales, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Granada, said there was no unanimous agreement that social media harms adolescents
AI concerns and public support
The debate has intensified following reports of AI-generated content, including allegations that Musk’s Grok chatbot produced non-consensual sexual images, including of minors. Sánchez said prosecutors would explore possible legal infractions by Grok, as well as TikTok and Instagram.Public support for restrictions appears strong. An Ipsos poll published in August last year found that 82 per cent of Spaniards believed children under 14 should be banned from social media, up from 73 per cent in 2024.
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