At the World Government Summit in Dubai, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez revealed extensive plans to hold social media executives criminally responsible and rein in platform algorithms, sparking a harsh and profane reaction from X’s owner.
Sánchez presented five measures in a speech, with implementation set to commence next week.
“Dirty Sánchez is a tyrant and traitor to the ,” Musk wrote on X, employing an explicit insult and a poop emoji.
Sánchez framed the proposals by depicting social media as a lawless digital environment, arguing that platforms have become a “failed state” where disinformation, hate speech, and criminal activity thrive without accountability.
Sánchez also appeared to directly target Musk, criticizing the X owner for amplifying what he termed false claims about Spain’s immigration policy and allowing harmful content to spread on the platform.
“Just last week, the , a migrant himself, used his personal account to amplify disinformation about the sovereign decision of my government—the regularization of 500,000 migrants who live, work, and contribute to our country’s success,” Sánchez said.
Under the plan, Spain would first revise its laws to hold platform executives criminally liable for failing to remove illegal or hateful content, leaving executives open to potential prosecution.
Sánchez stated that governments must stop turning “a blind eye to the toxic content shared under their watch.”
Second, Spain would make the and amplification of illegal content a new criminal offense, targeting both disinformation actors and the platforms whose systems promote their content for profit.
“Disinformation does not emerge on its own,” Sánchez said. “It is created, promoted, and spread by specific actors.”
Third, Sánchez announced the creation of a “hate and polarization footprint,” a system to track and measure how platforms fuel division and spread hate, which would serve as the basis for future legal and financial penalties.
“For too long, hate has been treated as invisible and untraceable,” Sánchez said. “Spreading hate must come with a cost.”
Fourth, Spain will ban access to for children under 16, requiring mandatory age-verification systems that Sánchez emphasized must function as genuine barriers, not mere check boxes.
“Today, are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone,” Sánchez said, describing social media as a realm of “addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation [and] violence.”
Finally, Sánchez said his government will collaborate with public prosecutors to investigate alleged violations by Grok, TikTok, and Instagram, vowing zero tolerance and warning that Spain would defend its digital sovereignty against foreign interference.
“We are fighting back,” he said. “And we will continue to do so.”