Spain AI rules and social media safety measures will move ahead despite lobbying from the technology industry, Digital Transformation Minister Oscar Lopez told Reuters.
Lopez said the profits of a few technology companies could not come at the expense of citizens’ rights, referring to proposed rules on high-risk AI systems and on the disclosure of social media algorithms’ operations.
His remarks followed comments by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said the European Commission was targeting addictive and harmful social media design practices through the upcoming Digital Fairness Act.
Spain announced plans in February to ban teenagers’ social media use, with a bill moving through parliament, and to adopt legislation making executives personally responsible for hate speech on their platforms.
The proposals drew criticism from X owner Elon Musk, who attacked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez over the measures.
Lopez said Spain wanted a common European approach because rules would be easier to enforce across the European Union’s more than 400 million citizens than through separate national systems.
He linked the regulatory push to concerns over cyberbullying, sexual harassment and AI-generated sexual deepfakes targeting children, especially girls, describing the impact on minors as a mental health pandemic.
Lopez said Spain supported “trustworthy AI” that protects privacy, democracy, minors and public safety. Asked about online pseudonyms, he said anonymity should not shield people from liability if they commit crimes.
