Sanchez has proposed a slew of measures, including banning social media for under-16s in a bid to protect children from the “digital wild west” and hold tech companies responsible for hateful and harmful content
As Spain becomes the latest country to propose a ban on social media for teens, Elon Musk has a message for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Musk has called the Spanish PM a “tyrant” after Sanchez targeted X for allegedly spreading misinformation about his government’s policies.
Sanchez has proposed a slew of measures, including banning social media for under-16s in a bid to protect children from the “digital wild west” and hold tech companies responsible for hateful and harmful content.
The Spanish PM called for urgent action as social media is a “failed state where laws are ignored, and crimes are tolerated”.
What has Sanchez proposed?
“Spain will ban access to social media for minors under the age of 16. Platforms will be required to implement effective age verification systems — not just checkboxes, but real barriers that work,” Sanchez said.
He added that Musk’s platform X was “amplifying disinformation” related to his government’s decision last week to regularise 500,000 undocumented workers and asylum seekers, adding that the Tesla CEO is himself a migrant.
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez:
Starting next week, my government will implement the following actions:
First, we will change the law in Spain to hold platform executives legally accountable for many infringements taking place on their sites.
Second, we will turn algorithmic… pic.twitter.com/cCr6MtoTxe
— Clash Report (@clashreport) February 3, 2026
“Today, our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone: a space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, violence. We will no longer accept that.”
The Socialist leader also pledged to change Spanish law to make the chief executives of tech platforms “face criminal liability for failing to remove illegal or hateful content.”
How has Musk retorted?
Musk made two posts about Sanchez’s announcement, pointing out his frustration over the targeting of X. In the first post, Musk said, “Dirty Sánchez is a tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain.”
About an hour later, he reposted the same video of Sanchez making the announcement, saying, “Sánchez is the true fascist totalitarian.”
Sánchez is the true fascist totalitarian https://t.co/b2U17fEwa7
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2026
The posts were part of a series that also lashed out French authorities that carried out police raids on the social media giant’s Paris offices over alleged political interference and sexual deepfakes.
With inputs from agencies
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