The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez (PSOE), intervened this Tuesday morning at the annual meeting of the World Government Summit in Dubai to talk about democracy and the impact of social networks and where he announced he will prohibit access to social networks for minors under 16 years of age.After making a brief review of the country's economic achievements, Sánchez has decided to focus his speech on the challenges of the digital world and has alluded to digital governanceIn his speech, he announced a package of five legislative and regulatory measures that seek to "address the abuses of large digital platforms and guarantee a digital environment that is safe, democratic, and respectful of fundamental rights," as the Government of Spain defended in a statement."The first thing is peace, people are at the center of the economy," the president highlighted. Thus, he indicated that "progress does not occur at the expense of the most vulnerable or the planet"After pointing out that in the virtual space, "the foundations that united us are being undermined", Sánchez indicated that "social ties are being turned into a kind of competition", although in the face of this reality "Spain builds bridges, not walls".
Digital governance versus the failed state of networks
Pedro Sánchez focused on digital governance as a central issue of our era that must be addressed globally in the face of the "failed state into which the social media ecosystem has devolved" where "laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated".
The president analyzed "misrule in content control and impunity for non-compliance with legality," the spread of disinformation and hate speech, and the lack of protection for data and personal material as serious dangers that challenge the protection of rights and freedoms and distort, particularly minors who have the use of networks integrated into their daily livesPresident Sánchez has highlighted the Government's determination to protect minors and strengthen control on social networks and has announced five measures aimed at digital platforms, including prohibiting access to social networks in Spain for minors under sixteen years of age, obliging digital platforms to implement effective age verification systemsThrough a reform of the law, Pedro Sánchez also proposes to put an end to the impunity of executives so that they are legally responsible for the infractions that are committed on their platforms if content that infringes legality or is considered hate speech is not removed. Likewise, he has announced that the manipulation of algorithms and the amplification of illegal content will be criminalized
Monitoring of Grok, TikTok, and Instagram violations
In defense of digital sovereignty and appealing to "zero tolerance" against any form of coercion, he stated that the government will address with the prosecution the avenues to investigate the possible legal infractions of Grok, TikTok, and InstagramFurthermore, to curb the amplification of **hate speech**, President Sánchez has announced the creation of a tracking, quantification, and traceability system that will allow for the establishment of a "Footprint of Hate and Polarization" and expose the permissiveness of digital platforms that fuel this type of content, the impact of which is contributing to greater social divisionThe President of the Government also announced that Spain has joined five European countries in the "Coalition of the Digital Willing" to advance in a coordinated and effective manner at a multinational level in the application of stricter, faster, and more effective regulation of social platforms