Telegram sends a mass message against Sánchez: "Your internet freedoms are threatened"

Brussels / BarcelonaFollowing accusations of "tyrant" and "traitor" leveled by Elon Musk, owner of Amazon X, against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for wanting to limit the age of access to social media to 16-year-olds and hold platform executives "criminally liable" for digital infractions, Musk has now sent a mass message via the platform condemning the "dangers" of the measure. "Pedro Sánchez's government is pushing dangerous new regulations that threaten your freedoms on the internet," he stated. In fact, Durov warns that, in his opinion, these changes "could turn Spain into a surveillance state under the guise of protection."

Durov then outlines the four reasons why he considers the measures announced this Tuesday by Sánchez to be "a red flag for freedom of expression and privacy." Among the reasons given are that to prohibit minors from accessing social media, networks will have to "track" users' identities, and that pursuing "illegal, hateful, or harmful" material could land platform executives in prison. Durov's message ends with the following call: "Stay vigilant, Spain. Demand transparency and fight for your rights. Share this widely before it's too late."

Sources within the Spanish government have denounced Durov's "unrestricted" use of social media to send "various lies and illegitimate attacks" against the government en masse to Spaniards, and have emphasized that these events demonstrate "the urgent need to regulate social media." "We Spaniards cannot live in a world where foreign techno-oligarchs can flood our phones with propaganda as much as they want simply because the government has announced measures to protect minors and enforce the law," they state. In fact, Sánchez himself has published a response on social network X paraphrasing Don Quixote:Let the techno-oligarchs bark, Sancho, it's a sign that we're riding."

Sources at the Moncloa Palace have accused Durov of filling his social network with lies to "erode trust" in institutions, and have indicated that the Telegram founder is being investigated for his possible involvement in serious crimes, as his platform "has repeatedly failed" to meet its moderation obligations. "Durov has deliberately designed an architecture of minimal moderation that has turned Telegram into a recurring space for documented criminal activities, such as child sex trafficking networks and drug trafficking, with cases under investigation in countries like France, South Korea, and Spain," the same sources asserted, adding that confronting him "is not an isolated incident."

The EU distances itself

Hours earlier, the European Union also warned that one of the points included in the Spanish government's proposal is "unfeasible." Specifically, the point referring to holding platform executives "criminally liable" when infringements are detected on the digital platforms they own. The European Commission, which declined to comment on the Spanish government's proposal as a whole, emphasized that member states cannot go beyond the framework established by the European Digital Services Act (DSA) and impose "additional measures or obligations" on large platforms and their executives. Currently, the power to set a minimum age for accessing the internet is the exclusive responsibility of member states, but monitoring compliance by platforms and any resulting decisions fall under the purview of the European Commission. In this regard, the European Commission's spokesperson for Technological Sovereignty, Thomas Regnier, explained on Wednesday that current common regulations seek a "harmonizing effect" in the protection of minors and focus accountability on companies, not individuals. "Taking additional measures or imposing obligations on platforms is clearly unfeasible," he asserted. He added: "We don't just want to protect minors in Spain; we want to protect everyone in Europe."

The European Union has been increasing its control over the use of social media in recent years, especially regarding minors. Armed with the Digital Services Act (DSA), Brussels has already opened several investigations and issued fines to tech giants such as Meta, X, Google, and TikTok, among others. However, the European Commission has not yet considered restricting access to social media for those under 18 or 16 years of age.

In addition to announcing that he will work to raise the minimum age for registering on social media to 16 and to hold platform executives criminally liable, Sánchez stated on Tuesday that he also wants to criminalize the manipulation of algorithms that facilitate and the alteration of the functioning of automated data processing systems, as well as create a tracking, quantification, and traceability system that will allow for establishing a "trace of hate and polarization" and working with the Public Prosecutor's Office to explore "ways to investigate legal violations by Google, TikTok, and Instagram."

Regarding the specific proposal from the Spanish government, Regnier indicated that Brussels cannot assess whether or not it is compatible with the DSA, because there is currently no legislative text to analyze. "There is no bill. If one is created [in the future], it will probably have to be notified to the European Commission, and then we will study it," he added. The previous day, in fact, Regnier had already applauded Spain for "joining the club" of European countries that are already working to prohibit access to social networks for minors under 16, such as France, Denmark, Greece, and Austria. Regnier maintained that "there is no need to encroach on the DSA's territory," and that any initiative implemented by European states in this area must fall within the limits set by current regulations. "Is a CEO responsible for what I can put online? It's very difficult. That's precisely why the DSA doesn't conduct criminal investigations. We don't target individuals; we focus on the platforms," ​​Regnier argued, before insisting that if an executive "algorithmically promotes a political party or reduces the visibility of others," they are not responsible.