The Spanish Government ordered the Public Ministry to open a formal investigation into social platforms X (formerly Twitter), Meta and TikTokaccording to news released this Tuesday, February 17, by the Reuters agency. At issue is the alleged spread of child sexual abuse material generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), at a time when European regulation tightens its grip on big technology companies.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and comes as part of a broader offensive against digital platforms. Regulators accuse these companies of various harmful practices, ranging from anti-competitive behavior in digital advertising to design deliberate addictive features.
Government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, reinforced the seriousness of the situation in statements to journalists, stating that the authorities “cannot allow algorithms to amplify or protect” this type of crimes. Saiz stressed that Children’s safety, privacy and dignity are at critical risk.
This measure is the first in a package of social media regulations that Sánchez recently introduced at a government summit in Dubai. The decision was based on a technical report prepared by three different ministries.
Global Pressure and the Grok case
Spain is not alone in this battle. Recently, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) – the main EU regulator for X, due to the company’s headquarters in Dublin – opened an investigation into the chatbot de AI from the company of Elon Musk, or Grok. The central concern is the processing of personal data and the tool’s potential to generate harmful sexualized images and videosincluding minors.
At the European level, the European Commission already maintains active investigations into Meta and TikTok under the umbrella of Digital Services Act (DSA). At the same time, countries such as France, Brazil and Canada also filed complaints against Grok for distributing illegal content.
The urgency of these measures is supported by worrying data. According to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), based in the United Kingdom, the number of AI-generated child abuse videos has skyrocketed: in 2024, they were flagged 3440 videos, compared to just 13 detected in the previous year.
Next Steps in Spain
Pedro Sánchez outlined new measures to protect minors onlineincluding a proposal to prohibit access to social networks for children under 16. Furthermore, the Spanish Parliament should investigate Meta for possible privacy violations involving Facebook and Instagram users. According to Reuters, so far, X, Meta and TikTok have not responded to requests for comment on the ongoing investigations.
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