President Pedro Sánchez has just confirmed that Spain will prohibit access to social networks for those under 16 years of age.
The measure comes after Congress in September approved the organic law for the protection of minors in digital environments, which raises the minimum age for registration from 14 to 16 years and forces device manufacturers to offer free parental control systems.
Sánchez defended the initiative during the World Government Summit in Dubai, where he made it clear that it is more necessary than ever to protect the youngest from all the dangers that threaten the internet.
This ban is one of those big steps. The objective is for technology companies to implement age verification systems and controls that allow them to monitor and measure the exposure of minors to content not recommended for them..
In addition, the Spanish Executive will work together with the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate possible breaches of large social networks such as TikTok, Instagram or X. The final idea is that Spain can create a solid framework that holds all these huge companies responsible for the safety of the youngest.
On the other hand, add that this new regulation also forces platforms to apply controls to prevent minors from bypassing the restrictions by all means.
There is talk of automatic age detection and verification systems, as well as mechanisms to report and eliminate content that is not recommended for the youngest.
Taking into account the difficulty of this entire process and the need for a gradual implementation that allows all of this to finally be carried out in the way it should, the Government will complement these restrictions with educational campaigns and free parental control tools for devices and applications
Spain follows in the footsteps of Australia, a pioneer in this decision with social networks
While it is true that Spain is one of the first countries to take this step, it is not alone. Australia was a pioneer by prohibiting access to social networks for minors under 16 years of age in December 2025. The regulations affect platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, X, Reddit, Twitch and Kick, and contemplate fines of up to $50 million if the measures are not complied with.
To comply with the law, Meta eliminated almost 550,000 minor accounts on its platforms.
But not only Spain or Australia. France and the United Kingdom are also considering taking another step along the same lines.. In France, a law was passed that blocks access to social networks for minors under 15 years of age and the advertising of products that may affect the physical or mental health of young people is being regulated.
In the United Kingdom, the proposal is still being debated, although there are already age verification systems to restrict adult content on the internet.
With all this, the Spanish Government plans to approve these measures next week.