Spain maintains its stance on regulations for social media and AI as the lobbying efforts from US tech companies increase.

      Spain's digital transformation minister, Óscar López, stated on Wednesday that Madrid will continue moving forward with a set of regulations aimed at social media platforms and high-risk artificial intelligence systems, despite increased lobbying from American tech companies. “The profit of four tech companies cannot come at the expense of the rights of millions,” López told reporters, mentioning the influence of “powerful voices” opposing measures that would regulate high-risk AI and require platforms to reveal the workings of their recommendation algorithms.

      The initiative has been building momentum for several months. In February, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced at the World Government Summit in Dubai that Spain would prohibit social media access for users under 16, a change currently being discussed in parliament as part of a broader digital child-protection bill. Sánchez also committed to criminalizing the manipulation of algorithms to enhance illegal content and to making executives personally accountable for not removing such content.

      Additionally, Spain has approved draft legislation to limit AI deepfakes, establishing 16 as the minimum age for consenting to the use of images and banning unauthorized AI-created likenesses in advertisements. In February, prosecutors launched an investigation into major platforms regarding the distribution of AI-generated child sexual abuse material on their services, as reported by Al Jazeera.

      This regulatory agenda is part of a larger European trend. EU lawmakers reached a political agreement in March on amendments to the bloc’s AI Act, which includes a ban on non-consensual intimate deepfakes and an extension of the deadline for high-risk systems to December 2027. Madrid has positioned itself as one of the leading capitals in the EU on enforcement, notably by developing the El Escorial data center as a sovereign-cloud and AI platform, as announced by López earlier this year.

      There has been significant industry pushback. Although López did not specify which companies he was referring to, U.S. filings indicate that 11 American technology firms spent approximately $20 million on federal lobbying efforts in the first quarter of 2026, averaging around $226,000 per day, according to industry reports. The Spanish minister implied that similar pressures were influencing Madrid, but so far, they have not delayed the legislative process.

      Not all of Spain's initiatives have been embraced smoothly. The proposal to restrict access for those under 16 garnered a personal rebuke from Elon Musk, who labeled Sánchez a “fascist totalitarian” on X in February. Furthermore, child-rights organizations have criticized aspects of the package as more symbolic than actionable.

      Creating verification systems that meet López’s standard of “real barriers, not just checkboxes,” remains a contested issue both technically and legally across Europe. However, the overall direction is clear. Australia, France, Denmark, and now Spain have enacted or proposed age-appropriate access to social platforms within roughly a year of each other, and Sánchez has been advocating for a unified EU approach through what he describes as a “coalition of the digitally willing.”

      If the Spanish package passes through parliament as it currently stands, it will serve as one of the more robust national tests to determine whether such regulations can withstand lobbying efforts and legal challenges. The under-16 amendment is anticipated to face its next parliamentary vote in the coming weeks.