Spanish government approves law that raises minimum age to open social media account to 16

Alfonso Torices

Madrid

Thursday, 27 March 2025, 08:19

The Spanish government has approved the draft law for the protection of minors in the digital sphere which, among a wide range of measures, raises the minimum age for opening a social media account or subscribing to any type of platform from 14 to 16. Minors under 16 will only be able to do so with the explicit authorisation of their legal guardians.

The text, which now enters its final stage of processing and approval, indicates that the minimum age for giving consent to the processing of personal data by different internet content operators will be raised to 16 years of age. This limitation will only be effective if public authorities ensure that internet companies comply with another obligation in the regulation: implementing an effective age verification system. This entails the upgrade of the system used today.

The bill contains a series of measures and legal changes that seek to put an end to the current easy access of minors to adult content such as pornography, violence or gambling; it implements mechanisms for early detection of the damage caused by the problematic use of digital devices; it imposes obligations on manufacturers and providers and acts against those who ignore them; it seeks to train minors so that they are protected from the risks since early childhood; and modifies the penal code and procedural laws to prosecute digital criminals more harshly, especially paedophiles and stalkers.

These are some of the changes and provisions included in the draft law:

"Minors have the right to: be effectively protected from digital content that may harm their development; receive sufficient and necessary information in an age-appropriate form and language about the use of technologies, as well as about their rights and the risks associated with the digital environment; access to information, freedom of expression and be heard; equal and effective access to devices, connection and training for the use of digital tools."

The penalty of digital distancing is the virtual equivalent of physical restrictions, such as bans on communication with victims by any means or orders to stay away from their home, workplace or place of residence. The penalty bans access to or communication via social media, forums, communication platforms or any other virtual space, when the offence is committed within them. It is applicable to a wide range of crimes, including domestic abuse, cyberbullying, gender-based violence or sexual harassment and assaults.

"A prison sentence of one to two years will be imposed on those who, without the permission of the person concerned and with the intention of undermining their moral integrity, disseminate, exhibit or transfer their body image or voice audio generated, modified or recreated using automated systems, software, algorithms, artificial intelligence or any other technology, so that it appears real, simulating situations of sexual or seriously degrading content." If the dissemination is massive, the penalty will be two years.

The use of fictitious identities on the internet, including falsifying age or gender to facilitate the commission of crimes, will be considered an aggravating factor under the penal code. The corresponding penalty will be increased to the upper half of the range. It is primarily aimed at sexual crimes against minors, such as harassment, grooming, assault, exhibitionism and corruption, where pedophiles increasingly pose as young boys or girls to manipulate their victims.

The regulation extends the current system of legal procedures and swift action for the removal of pirated content from web pages or any other digital site, or even the page's closure, when those present children's rights infringement. It grants public authorities the same actions used in the case of infringement of intellectual property rights for situations in which the best interests of the child must be defended.

All mobile phones, tablets, computers and televisions sold in Spain will be obliged to include an effective and free parental control system so that parents or guardians can take measures to protect minors from the risks of using these devices and browsing the internet, chats and social media. Manufacturers and providers will have to offer activation of the system by default in the initial configuration process of the device, as is the case for example with languages and any of the other main features. In this way, it will be up to all parents, regardless of their financial means or abilities, to decide whether to activate such protections and what limitations on device and internet use they will impose on their children. Configuration should be user-friendly and accessible to the majority.

An efficient age verification system will be implemented to regulate access to adult content (pornography, gambling or violence, among others). All content inappropriate for minors will be clearly labeled, with risk information provided in simple language. These mandatory warnings will facilitate the vetoing of websites, apps, forums and media that parents can access with parental control.

The programme that paediatricians and nurses at health centres use to prevent and detect ailments and harmful behaviours or habits in childhood and adolescence will incorporate questions that allow early detection of signs of problematic use (or even addiction) to screens or the internet. Specialised help will be offered when professionals detect such signs. Implementation and the design of protocols will be carried out in coordination with health care providers. Specialised centres have detected an increase in technological addictions in adolescents. Boys tend to develop addictions to video games, while girls are more likely to become addicted to social media.

The regulation orders the implementation of a national strategy for the digital protection of children, with short-, medium- and long-term measures, most of which will come from the proposal made by a group of 50 experts. One of the basic measures will be a digital literacy programme, which, in coordination with each region, will be taught from primary to secondary school, to give children tools for protection and detection of 'fake news'. It will not be a standalone subject but rather an integrated part of education, requiring specific training for teachers and guidance counselors.

Influencers must give unequivocal and explicit warning if they are going to broadcast content that is harmful to the physical, moral or mental development of minors.

Minors will be banned from accessing video game 'loot boxes'. It is a surprise purchase in which the player waits for the weapon they need to win, the tool or the key to overcome the challenge. Once paid for, the box opens and reveals the prize. Most of the time this is followed by disappointment, but the game allows you to try your luck with another chest and a new payment.