Spain is pressing ahead with new rules to make social networks and artificial intelligence safer, despite intense lobbying from the tech industry, the country’s digital transformation minister said in May 2026.
“The profit of four tech companies cannot come at the expense of the rights of millions,” Minister Oscar Lopez told Reuters, adding that “powerful voices” were lobbying against proposed regulation that would curb high-risk AI systems or require companies to disclose how their social media algorithms work.
Spain announced plans in February 2026 to ban social media use by teenagers — with a bill already working through parliament — and to adopt legislation holding executives personally responsible for hate speech on their platforms. Lopez also said anonymity should not shield people from liability if they commit crimes online.
The proposals drew sharp criticism from X platform owner Elon Musk, who called Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez a tyrant and a totalitarian.
Lopez’s comments aligned with those of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said the Commission was targeting addictive and harmful design practices by social media firms in its upcoming Digital Fairness Act. Similar moves are underway in Australia, France, and Greece.
Spain has positioned itself as one of Europe’s most vocal advocates for what Lopez called “trustworthy AI” — a model he said should protect privacy, democracy, minors, and public safety rather than prioritize speed or profit. Lopez linked the regulatory push to growing concern over cyberbullying, sexual harassment, and AI-generated sexual deepfakes targeting children, describing the impact on minors as a mental health pandemic.
Lopez said Spain favors a common European approach, arguing that rules are easier to enforce across the bloc of more than 400 million citizens than on a country-by-country basis. He warned that supporters of a deregulatory approach would one day regret defending what he called “the law of the jungle.”
Source: mint – technology