"We are going to return social networks to the promised land that they should never have left", said the head of government.
Speaking at the plenary of the World Summit of Governments in Dubai, which is attended by some 30 heads of state and government, Sánchez announced this measure as part of a regulatory package to tackle the abuses of large digital platforms and make digital platforms a healthy space.
The ban on network access for children under 16 is in addition to four other measures, including ending impunity for managers to be held legally responsible for infringements on digital platforms for which they are responsible and face "criminal liability" if they do not remove "hateful and illegal content".
The government will work with the Public Prosecutor's Office to prosecute possible legal infractions by Grok, TikTok and Instagram and will defend Spain's "digital sovereignty" "against any kind of foreign coercion", the head of the executive warned.
In addition, two other measures included in this regulatory package are the criminalisation of the manipulation of algorithms and the amplification of illegal content, a tracking, quantification and traceability system will be created to establish a Hate and Polarisation Footprint.
Pedro Sánchez also announced that Spain has joined five other European countries in the "Coalition of the Digitally Disposed" to advance the implementation of stricter, faster and more effective regulation of social platforms.
Source: A European Perspective, RTVE.es
Originally published by RTVE.es on 3 February 2026 10:29 GMT+1