Spain has announced plans to bar minors from accessing social media platforms as part of a sweeping set of measures aimed at strengthening online safety and protecting young people.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez made the announcement on Tuesday while speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. In his opening remarks, Sánchez warned that social media and digital platforms have evolved into spaces where “laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated.”

He highlighted key risks associated with social media, including disinformation, hate speech, weak data protection, and their growing threat to the rights and freedoms of young people.

As part of the proposed reforms, Sánchez said the Spanish government plans to ban children under the age of 16 from accessing social media, introduce mandatory age-verification systems, and impose tougher accountability measures on social media executives and companies that breach regulations. He also proposed criminal sanctions for the manipulation of algorithms used to amplify harmful content.

In addition, the prime minister unveiled plans for a “Hate and Polarization Footprint,” a mechanism designed to identify and expose digital platforms that promote or enable harmful and illegal content.

Spain’s move aligns with a growing global push to regulate digital platforms more strictly. In the United Kingdom, the Online Safety Act 2025, which took effect last year, mandates age-verification checks for content deemed harmful to minors. Similarly, New Zealand introduced the Social Media (Age-Restricted Users) Bill in May 2025, seeking to prohibit children under 16 from accessing social media through strict age-verification measures.