That country introduces age limit for social media: Those under 16 will not be able to use it

The Spanish government is preparing a new regulation that includes strict measures for children regarding social media use. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced at the World Government Summit in Dubai that access to social networking sites will be banned for children under 16. In addition to this ban, it was reported that a bill aimed at comprehensively increasing the oversight of digital platforms and holding the executives of these platforms legally accountable will be submitted to parliament soon.

In his statement, Sanchez touched upon the importance of making digital platforms a healthy and safe space. The new regulations to be introduced for social media will also include technical measures that will effectively limit children's access to such platforms. Furthermore, it was stated that a special monitoring system will be established to combat hate speech and discrimination in the social media environment.

It was announced that Spain will join the "Digital Readiness Coalition," which was established with five other European countries regarding the regulation of social media platforms. The relevant countries will hold their first meeting in the coming days.

HARSH WORDS FROM SANCHEZ TO ELON MUSK

Prime Minister Sanchez stated that social media has turned into an environment that is increasingly devoid of laws, where crimes are tolerated, misinformation is widespread, and a significant portion of users are subjected to hate attacks. At this point, he also criticized Elon Musk, the US owner of X and SpaceX, stating that "they saw with regret that, despite being an immigrant himself, he used his personal account to spread disinformation about a sovereign decision of the Spanish government regarding the legalization of half a million immigrants."

Sanchez emphasized that while the influence of social media companies is high, they will stand against this power with the government's determination and will guarantee digital sovereignty. "However, their power and influence should not frighten us. Because our determination is greater than their wealth. Spain will show zero tolerance on this issue and will guarantee digital sovereignty," he said.

According to the legal regulation, the details of which were clarified at the current Council of Ministers meeting, a bill has been prepared in which platform executives will be held responsible for all kinds of violations occurring in digital environments, and public prosecutors will be granted the authority to launch investigations.

News Source: 12punto