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Europe moves to ban social media for minors

Europe moves to ban social media for minors

Rule Changes
By Newzino Staff |

Spain Leads EU Push to Criminalize Platform Executives Over Child Safety

February 4th, 2026: Telegram Warns Spanish Users of 'Total Control'

Overview

Spain became the first European country to announce a ban on social media for children under 16, joining Australia, France, and Denmark in a regulatory wave sweeping democracies worldwide. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez unveiled five measures at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on February 3, 2026, including mandatory age verification systems that go beyond simple checkboxes—and criminal liability for tech executives who fail to remove illegal content.

The announcement triggered immediate backlash from platform owners. Elon Musk called Sánchez a 'tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain,' while Telegram founder Pavel Durov warned users that the measures represent 'steps toward total control.' The Spanish government says the law will protect children from 'addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, and violence.' Critics argue the regulations threaten anonymity, enable surveillance, and may not survive legal challenge under European Union rules.

Key Indicators

16
Minimum age for social media access in Spain
Platforms must implement 'real barriers' beyond checkboxes to verify users' ages
6
European nations coordinating regulation
Spain announced it has joined forces with five other EU members for stricter enforcement
5
Enforcement measures announced
Executive liability, algorithm criminalization, hate tracking, age bans, and international coordination
90%+
Europeans supporting urgent action
2025 Eurobarometer found overwhelming public support for protecting children online

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People Involved

Pedro Sánchez
Pedro Sánchez
Prime Minister of Spain (Leading EU push for social media regulation)
Elon Musk
Elon Musk
Owner of X (formerly Twitter) (Opposing Spain's regulations)
Pavel Durov
Pavel Durov
Founder and CEO of Telegram (Publicly warning Spanish users against regulations)

Organizations Involved

European Parliament
European Parliament
Legislative Body
Status: Called for EU-wide minimum age of 16

The directly elected legislative body of the European Union, which adopted a non-binding resolution in November 2025 calling for EU-wide social media age restrictions.

eSafety Commissioner
eSafety Commissioner
Government Regulator
Status: Implementing world's first social media age ban

Australia's independent regulator for online safety, responsible for implementing the world's first nationwide social media ban for minors under 16.

Timeline

  1. Telegram Warns Spanish Users of 'Total Control'

    Reaction

    Telegram founder Pavel Durov sent a mass notification to all Spanish users warning that the proposed regulations represent 'steps toward total control' and accusing the government of weaponizing safety to censor critics.

  2. Spain Announces Five-Measure Social Media Crackdown

    Policy Announcement

    Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Spain will ban social media for under-16s, hold executives criminally liable for illegal content, criminalize algorithmic amplification of illegal content, and create a 'hate and polarization footprint' tracking system.

  3. Musk Attacks Sánchez as 'Tyrant'

    Reaction

    X owner Elon Musk responded to Spain's announcement by calling Sánchez a 'tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain' and 'the true fascist totalitarian.'

  4. France Approves Under-15 Social Media Ban

    Legislation

    French lawmakers voted 130-21 to ban social media for children under 15, with implementation set for September 2026. The bill also bans mobile phones in high schools.

  5. Australian Teens Already Circumventing Ban

    Implementation Challenge

    Reports emerged that Australian teenagers were using VPNs, AI applications to age their photos, and parents' credentials to bypass the ban within days of implementation.

  6. Australia's Ban Takes Effect

    Implementation

    Australia's under-16 social media ban became active, barring minors from YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Twitch, Threads, and Kick. Platforms face fines up to AU$50 million.

  7. EU Parliament Calls for Bloc-Wide Age 16 Minimum

    Resolution

    Members of the European Parliament voted 483-92 for ambitious EU action protecting minors online, including an EU-wide minimum social media age of 16 and bans on addictive design practices.

  8. Australia Passes World's First Social Media Age Ban

    Legislation

    The Australian Parliament passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024, establishing a mandatory minimum age of 16 for social media accounts—the first such nationwide ban globally.

Scenarios

1

Spain's Law Passes, EU Members Follow

Discussed by: European Parliament supporters, child safety advocates

Spain's parliament approves the measures, creating a template other EU members adopt. The six-nation coalition Sánchez referenced expands. By late 2026, a patchwork of national bans covers most of Western Europe, pressuring the European Commission to propose harmonized EU-wide legislation under the Digital Services Act framework.

2

EU Legal Challenge Blocks National Bans

Discussed by: Legal analysts at Dentons, digital rights organizations

France's 2023 under-15 ban never took effect because it conflicted with the EU's Digital Services Act. Spain's law faces similar challenges. The European Court of Justice rules that unilateral national bans violate EU single-market principles, forcing countries to wait for coordinated EU action that takes years to materialize.

3

Age Verification Proves Unworkable

Discussed by: Electronic Frontier Foundation, privacy researchers

Despite legal passage, enforcement fails. Australia's experience—where teens circumvented bans within days using VPNs and AI aging tools—repeats across Europe. Privacy concerns over ID verification drive backlash. The laws remain on the books but effectively unenforced, achieving neither child protection nor platform accountability.

4

Platforms Implement Global Age Gates

Discussed by: Tech industry analysts

Facing a patchwork of national laws with varying ages (15 in France, 16 in Spain and Australia), major platforms implement unified global age verification systems to simplify compliance. This shifts the child safety debate from government mandates to platform-led solutions, with companies like Meta and TikTok positioning themselves as responsible actors.

Historical Context

United States COPPA (1998)

April 2000

What Happened

The United States passed the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act in 1998, effective April 2000. The law required parental consent before websites could collect personal information from children under 13, effectively creating the age-13 minimum that most social platforms still use today—not because 13-year-olds are ready for social media, but because platforms didn't want the compliance burden of younger users.

Outcome

Short Term

Websites implemented simple age gates asking users to confirm they were 13 or older, which children easily bypassed by lying.

Long Term

The age-13 standard became a global default, but the law failed to prevent children's widespread social media use. By 2025, the Federal Trade Commission was pursuing COPPA 2.0 to extend protections to teenagers.

Why It's Relevant Today

Spain and Australia's age-16 bans represent the first serious attempt to move beyond COPPA's ineffective consent-based model to outright prohibition with platform liability.

China's Minor Gaming Restrictions (2021)

August 2021

What Happened

China's National Press and Publication Administration limited minors to one hour of online gaming daily, only on weekends and holidays between 8-9 PM. The policy required all gaming companies to integrate a national Real-Name Verification System linking accounts to government ID databases.

Outcome

Short Term

Gaming companies reported sharp drops in underage playtime, though enforcement relied on state ID infrastructure unavailable in democracies.

Long Term

China expanded the model in 2024 with comprehensive Regulations on the Protection of Minors in Cyberspace covering social media, livestreaming, and spending limits. The approach demonstrated that strict enforcement is technically possible—but requires surveillance infrastructure democracies may not accept.

Why It's Relevant Today

China's success in enforcement came from mandatory ID verification tied to national databases—exactly what privacy advocates warn against in Spain's and Australia's proposals.

UK Online Safety Act Age Assurance (2023-2025)

October 2023 – July 2025

What Happened

The UK passed the Online Safety Act in October 2023, requiring platforms hosting adult content to implement 'highly effective' age assurance by July 2025. The law mandated that age verification be technically accurate, robust against bypass, and fair across demographic groups—setting the most detailed standards yet for what age gates must achieve.

Outcome

Short Term

Platforms scrambled to implement facial age estimation, mobile network verification, and digital ID checks. Some adult sites blocked UK users rather than comply.

Long Term

The UK's approach provided a regulatory template distinguishing between content categories and specifying technical standards, influencing how other countries frame their requirements.

Why It's Relevant Today

Spain's insistence on 'real barriers, not checkboxes' echoes the UK's 'highly effective' standard, but applying it to all social media—not just adult content—is a significant expansion in scope.

11 Sources:
+5
CNBC CNN Euronews Euro Weekly News Al Jazeera European Parliament eSafety Commissioner CNN JURIST U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Electronic Frontier Foundation