Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced sweeping plans at the World Government Summit in Dubai to hold social media executives criminally liable and curb platform algorithms, prompting a sharp and profane response from X owner Elon Musk.
Sánchez laid out five measures in a speech, with implementation set to begin next week.
„Dirty Sánchez is a tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain,“ Musk wrote on X, using an explicit insult and a poop emoji.
Sánchez framed the proposals by describing social media as a lawless digital ecosystem, arguing that platforms have become a „failed state“ where disinformation, hate speech and criminal activity flourish without accountability.
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Sánchez also appeared to take aim at Musk directly, criticizing the X owner for amplifying what he described as false claims about Spain’s immigration policy and allowing harmful content to spread on the platform.
„Just last week, the owner of X, a migrant himself, used his personal account to amplify disinformation about the sovereign decision by my government, the regularization of 500,000 migrants that live, work and contribute to the success of our country,“ Sánchez said.
Under the plan, Spain would first amend its laws to hold platform executives criminally liable for failing to remove illegal or hateful content, exposing executives to potential prosecution.
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Sánchez said governments must stop turning „a blind eye to the toxic content shared under their watch.“
Second, Spain would make the algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content a new criminal offense, targeting both disinformation actors and the platforms whose systems promote their content for profit.
„Disinformation doesn’t appear by itself,“ Sánchez said. „It is created, promoted and spread by certain actors.“
Third, Sánchez announced the creation of a „hate and polarization footprint,“ a system to track and quantify how platforms fuel division and spread hate, which would serve as the basis for future legal and financial penalties.
„For too long, hate has been treated as invisible and untraceable,“ Sánchez said. „Spreading hate must come at a cost.“
Fourth, Spain will ban access to social media for children under 16, requiring mandatory age-verification systems that Sánchez said must function as real barriers, not simple check boxes.
„Today, our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone,“ Sánchez said, describing social media as a realm of „addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation [and] violence.“
Finally, Sánchez said his government will work with public prosecutors to investigate alleged violations by Grok, TikTok and Instagram, vowing zero tolerance and warning that Spain would defend its digital sovereignty against foreign interference.
„We are fighting back,“ he said. „And we will continue to do so.“
Musk calls Spanish PM a ‘tyrant’ after Spain announces sweeping social media crackdown 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-02-03 23:36:43 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
