The Spanish government has issued a defiant message to Silicon Valley, confirming it will push ahead with stringent new legislation designed to make social networks and Artificial Intelligence (AI) demonstrably safer.
Speaking exclusively to Reuters, Spain's Digital Transformation Minister, Óscar López, said the government viewed the current digital landscape as fundamentally unsustainable.
"The profit of four tech companies cannot come at the expense of the rights of millions," López stated bluntly.
He acknowledged that "powerful voices" from the tech sector were aggressively lobbying against proposed national and European regulations aimed at restricting high-risk AI systems and forcing social media companies to disclose how their engagement algorithms operate.
López's stance closely echoed that of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. On Tuesday, von der Leyen confirmed the Commission was targeting "addictive and harmful design practices" engineered by social media firms, which will face tighter regulation under the bloc's upcoming Digital Fairness Act.
Spain is part of a growing international trend towards stronger protections for minors online.
In February, Spain announced plans to ban social media use by teenagers. The bill, currently moving through parliament, also includes a controversial provision that would hold tech executives personally liable for hate speech published on their platforms.
The move drew swift criticism from tech billionaires, including X owner Elon Musk. Musk used his platform to accuse Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of being a "tyrant" and a "totalitarian" for attempting to regulate online speech and access.
Despite Madrid's national efforts, López stressed that Spain's long-term goal was a unified European framework for regulating tech companies.
He argued that tougher rules would be easier to enforce across a bloc of more than 400 million people than through fragmented national approaches that large technology firms could exploit.
The minister warned supporters of a deregulated tech sector that they would eventually regret defending what he described as "the law of the jungle".
López linked the urgency of the reforms to growing concerns over cyberbullying, algorithmic sexual harassment, and the rise of AI-generated sexual deepfakes targeting children, particularly girls.
He described the psychological impact on minors as a "mental health pandemic".
Spain has positioned itself as one of Europe's strongest advocates for what López called "trustworthy AI". He said Europe's future AI model must prioritise privacy, democratic integrity, child protection and public safety over speed and corporate profit.
When asked whether authorities should have the power to identify people using pseudonyms online to commit crimes or harassment, López said anonymity should never shield individuals from legal responsibility.
"What isn't legal in the real world cannot be legal in the virtual world," López concluded. "Full stop."
Saudi Arabia has temporarily shut down its 1,200-kilometre East-West oil pipeline after it was hit by a drone attack, with Riyadh and Baghdad sayin...
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces struck two cargo vessels overnight in the Ukrainian Black Sea port o...
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would “love” to see British-run Northern Ireland unify...
Overnight Iranian strikes on an air base in Jordan damaged multiple U.S. aircraft and left one without a wing, American media reported. Meanwhile, explosions were heard across parts of southern Iran according to local media reports.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the weekend BRICS summit, amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, joining a host of foreign dignitaries.
Ukrainian forces struck a Russian oil refinery in Siberia and a seaport in Dagestan in the past 24 hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He will meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday to discuss air defences for Ukraine over winter.
Mexico and the U.S. are racing to secure a trade deal before the U.S. midterm elections in less than eight weeks, according to six sources familiar with the talks, with failed negotiations between Washington and Canada adding urgency.
A Russian strike on a gas station in Kyiv has killed two people, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement on Telegram. In Russia, online marketplace Ozon has suspended operations in Saratov, southwestern Russia, following a drone strike on a warehouse in the region.
GITEX AI Türkiye opened in Istanbul on Wednesday, bringing the international technology exhibition network to the country for the first time.
A former OpenAI and Anthropic researcher has quit his job with a stark warning: the companies building some of the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) systems are racing towards technology they themselves fear could threaten humanity.
Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton has warned against rushing to develop artificial superintelligence, arguing that scientists still do not know how to ensure systems more capable than humans remain safe and under control.
The United States and China are preparing to hold their first official bilateral talks focused exclusively on artificial intelligence as concerns grow over the risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems.
AI may live in the cloud, but the infrastructure powering it is anything but virtual. As data centres consume ever more electricity and water, the race is on to find new ways to keep the machines running.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment