Pedro Sánchez announced a ban for under-16s in February 2026, but the law that would bring it in is still being negotiated in Congress. After that it has to pass the Senate.
What was announced. On 3 February 2026, at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, the Prime Minister said Spain would ban social media for under-16s, require real age checks, and make platform executives legally responsible for illegal and hateful content. The platforms took it well. Elon Musk called him a tyrant on X, and Telegram’s founder sent a message to every Telegram user in Spain attacking the plan.
Where the law is. The ban is being added to a bill on protecting children online that has been in Congress since spring 2025. The Justice Commission’s working group resumed negotiating amendments on 29 September 2026 and said it would carry on in the coming weeks. It hasn’t gone to a vote.
What the bill would do. Amendments agreed by the two governing parties, PSOE and Sumar, would:
- bar under-16s from social networks carrying content harmful to children
- make platforms prove to the regulator, the CNMC, that they don’t use addictive design, that they protect children’s privacy, and that they offer tools against unwanted contact
- require a parent’s permission for under-16s, even on platforms the regulator has approved
- make it a crime to manipulate algorithms to amplify harmful content
The bill as first written also let children who already have accounts keep them, unless their parents decide otherwise.
How it differs from Australia and the UK. Their laws tell platforms to keep under-16s out. Spain’s draft gives parents a say again, and makes platforms prove they’re safe before children are let on.
What people in Spain think. 82% of people in Spain say under-14s should be banned from social media, up from 73% a year earlier, according to Ipsos. A reader in Spain made the case against the ban on Wired Parents in March.
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What this means for you right now
If your family is in Spain, this is what I’d do.
Decide now what you’d say yes to. If the bill passes as drafted, a platform having the regulator’s approval won’t be enough on its own: a child under 16 will still need your permission. That makes you the age check, so it helps to know your answer before anyone asks.
If your child already has accounts, the first draft lets them keep them unless you say otherwise. Watch whether that survives the amendments.
Wherever you are, watch the CNMC part. Making platforms prove they’re safe before children can use them is a different idea from keeping children out, and other countries could copy it.
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Find out where every country stands on social media age limits for children in the tracker.
Checked 13 November 2026.
Sources:
- Euronews, Spain to ban social media for under-16s, 3 February 2026
- Euronews, Spain’s Prime Minister hits back at Telegram founder Pavel Durov, 6 February 2026
- Congreso de los Diputados, bill on protecting minors in digital environments
- La Región (Europa Press), the bill returns to Congress, 26 September 2026
- Ipsos, Education Monitor 2025
