Spanish government plans new law to protect minors from pornography

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has revealed the government could soon implement a new age verification mechanism to block underage users accessing porn

Doménico Chiappe

Madrid

Tuesday, 16 January 2024 | Updated 17/01/2024 15:51h.

Spain intends to announce a new law to protect minors from pornography, according to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The Spanish PM revealed the plan in an interview with the newspaper El País, but did not explain what the new legislation would entail, just that it would be a "country agreement".

Another measure which could come into place is "the creation of devices that prevent minors from accessing pornographic content", Sánchez said, who pointed out that discussions were ongoing between the national data protection agency and the Spanish Mint which issues digital verification certficates.

More details on this age verification mechanism are expected to be announced in summer and would be in line with what the European Commission has approved for the most popular pornography websites, in which surveillance is tightened and access is blocked for underage users.

The European rule will come into force this February, but will only affect the three big global pornography platforms - Pornhub, Stripchat and Xvideos - which have more than 45 million monthly users in the EU.

A third measure announced by Sánchez to prevent an "epidemic" of underage pornography usage is training and education. A "multidisciplinary strategy in the field of education, digital skills, and also in the field of equality" must be in place, reported El País. Other European governments, such as France, have also announced new laws to regulate underage usage on porn websites.

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