Elon Musk Called Spain’s PM ‘Dirty Sánchez’ Over Social Media Ban
Spain proposed a ban on social media for under-16s as attitudes hardened in Europe against the technology, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promising to protect children from the “digital wild west” and hold tech companies responsible for hateful and harmful content. Elon Musk responded by calling him “a tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain.”
What Spain Announced
Sánchez said on Tuesday that urgent action was needed because social media was a “failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated,” speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. The government is preparing a series of measures including a social media ban for under-16s, with the proposed regulation giving parents clear backing to set limits and easing social pressure for children worried about missing out, according to Diana Diaz, director of the ANAR Foundation for at-risk children and adolescents.
Spain joins five other European countries in what Sánchez called the “coalition of the digitally willing” to coordinate and enforce cross-border regulation, though he didn’t name the countries. The group is set to hold their first meeting in the coming days.
Sánchez said prosecutors would explore ways to investigate possible legal infractions by Grok, TikTok, and Instagram, with the proposed ban implemented as part of a change to an existing bill on digital protection for minors being debated in parliament.
Musk’s Response
Sánchez also took Musk to task for using X to “amplify disinformation” over his administration’s decision last week to regularise 500,000 undocumented workers and asylum seekers, pointing out that Musk was himself a migrant.
Musk wrote on X in response: “Dirty Sánchez is a tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain.” About 90 minutes later, he escalated his criticism, posting “Sánchez is the true fascist totalitarian.”
Representatives of Google, TikTok, Snapchat, and Meta didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Spain’s proposed measures.
The European Coalition
Greece is also close to announcing a similar ban for children under 15, a senior government source said, with Spain and Greece set to join countries such as Britain and France in considering tougher stances on social media. Australia in December became the first nation to prohibit access to such platforms for children younger than 16.
Legislation to ban children under 15 from social media is passing through France’s parliament, while Britain is also considering similar measures. Governments and regulators worldwide are looking at the impact of children’s screen time on their development and mental wellbeing.
“Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone … We will no longer accept that,” Sánchez said. “We will protect them from the digital wild west. We know that this is a battle that far exceeds the boundaries of any country.”
The AI Content Problem
The recent explosion of AI-generated content, and public outcry over reports of Musk’s Grok AI chatbot generating non-consensual sexual images including of minors, has fuelled debate over the risks of such online content. The timing of Spain’s announcement coincided with French prosecutors raiding X’s Paris headquarters over alleged political interference and sexual deepfakes.
Jose Cesar Perales, a professor in experimental psychology at the University of Granada, said there was no unanimous agreement that social media harms adolescents, though public opinion in Spain strongly supports restrictions.
Public Support
~82% of people in Spain said they believed children under 14 should be banned from social media, according to an Ipsos poll on education published in August last year, up from 73% in 2024.
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