Is Spain’s Prime Minister Right Banning Social Media For Kids? And How To Do It?

Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.

Or support our Kickstarter campaign!

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is looking to make a bold move and lead the way on an issue most of the world is struggling with but doesn’t know how to handle. He wants to ban social media use by kids under 16 years old in Spain, calling social media the “digital wild west,” as the Guardian shares.

Research has shown all kinds of harms on men and women from social media use, but even more so on kids. Issues of self-image, self-confidence, and even suicide have been linked to social media. Social media companies have also been shown to favor ragebaiting and conflict. Aside from all of that, disinformation and misinformation are spread to an unimaginable degree every moment of every day on social media. Fake news is not a rare problem, but rather a norm. That terms was, in fact, first being used to talk about this problem before Donald Trump co-opted it.

Without a doubt, I assume that kids would largely develop better and be healthier if they weren’t on social media. However, banning it also presents questions and problems.

Aside from the practicality of it and certain backlash, how does one choose what social media is and what it isn’t. You have some obvious networks like TikTok, X, Instagram, and Facebook. But what about YouTube and reddit, which can be very useful but can also silo people into harmful echo chambers, extreme communities, and plenty of misinformation as well? Which networks and sites are banned, and which are not?

Nonetheless, considering the problems social media is creating, I think the idea is a good one. Kids can communicate with their friends via messaging apps, but they do not need to be fed down harmful paths via money-chasing algorithms.

Prime Minister Sánchez was stronger in his language on this topic. He called social media a “failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated.” He also highlighted X as being used to “amplify disinformation.” Can’t disagree with any of this.

Elon Musk took it all well. “Dirty Sánchez is a tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain,” he said. Then, a little while later, he added that “Sánchez is the true fascist totalitarian.”

Australia already started down this route in late 2024 with a social media ban for kids under 16 years old. Greece, France, and the UK are also considering implementing one for children under 15.

The problem is: we probably need a ban on social media for everyone! Not just kids. Jokes aside, though … there are clearly problems with social media that need to be solved.

“Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone. … We will no longer accept that,” Sanchez said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. “We will protect them from the digital wild west.

It will be interesting to see how effective Sánchez, Spain, and other countries can be here.

Featured image by Ministry of the Presidency, Government of Spain.