Spain, Greece weigh social media ban for teenagers

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MADRID — Spain and Greece on Tuesday proposed bans on social media use by teenagers as attitudes hardened in Europe against technology some say is designed to be addictive.

Spain wants to prohibit social media for under-16s, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said. Greece is close to announcing a similar ?ban for children under 15, a senior government source said.

Sanchez said social media platform X has amplified disinformation over his administration's decision last week to regularize half a million undocumented workers and asylum seekers.

The prime minister added his government would introduce a new bill to hold social media executives accountable for illegal and hateful content.

The measures drew fury from Elon Musk, the owner of X. He responded a few hours later, calling Sanchez "a traitor to the people of Spain".

Representatives of Google, part of Alphabet, TikTok, Snapchat and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Beyond boundaries

Spain and Greece join countries such as Britain and France in considering tougher stances on social media, after Australia in December became the first nation to prohibit access to such platforms for children younger than 16.

Governments worldwide are looking at the impact of children's screen time on their development and mental well-being.

"Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone … We will no longer accept that," Sanchez said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai.

Spain joins five other European countries that he dubbed the "coalition of the digitally willing" to coordinate and enforce cross-border regulation, Sanchez said, without naming the countries, which are set to hold their first meeting in the coming days.

"We know that this is a battle that far exceeds the boundaries of any country," he said. His office did not respond to a request for clarification.

Legislation to ban children under 15 from social media is currently passing through France's parliament. Britain is also considering similar measures.

The recent explosion of AI-generated content, and public outcry over reports of Musk's Grok AI chatbot generating nonconsensual sexual images, including of minors, have fueled debate over the risks of such online content.

Sanchez said prosecutors would explore ways to investigate possible legal infractions by Grok.

About 82 percent of Spanish respondents said they believed children under 14 should be banned from social media, according to a 30-country Ipsos poll on education published last August. That was up from 73 percent in 2024.

In Australia, social media companies deactivated nearly 5 million accounts belonging to teenagers within weeks of the ban taking effect, the internet regulator said last month, suggesting the measure could have a sweeping impact.

Agencies via Xinhua