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Spain Probes X, Meta, TikTok Over AI Generated Child Abuse Content
Spain plans a criminal probe into X, Meta and TikTok over allegations their AI tools enabled creation and spread of child sexual abuse material.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaking in World Economic Forum
The government of Spain said it will ask prosecutors to investigate X, Meta and TikTok to determine whether they committed criminal offences by allegedly allowing artificial intelligence systems to generate and disseminate child sexual abuse material.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the move aims to protect “the mental health, dignity and rights of our sons and daughters” and end what he described as the “impunity” of major social media platforms. Officials said the decision followed an expert report analysing “the potential criminal liability of increasingly widespread practices in the digital environment,” including deepfakes and manipulated images used to create explicit sexual content involving minors.
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According to the report, social media companies could be implicated because their platforms enable “massive dissemination with a speed and opacity that greatly hinders detection and prosecution,” while facilitating networks that produce, share and monetise such material.
The cabinet approved the step Tuesday as Sánchez’s administration prepares broader measures, including a proposed ban on social media use for under-16s and legislation designed to hold technology companies responsible for hateful and harmful content.
The announcement comes less than a month after the European Commission opened an investigation into X over the alleged production of sexually explicit images and possible child sexual abuse material generated by its AI chatbot Grok, linked to owner Elon Musk. On Tuesday, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said its “large-scale” inquiry would focus on generative AI functions tied to the Grok model.
Deputy commissioner Graham Doyle said regulators had engaged with X about claims that users could prompt the @Grok account to generate sexualised images of real people, including children. He said the probe would assess whether the platform complied with its obligations under EU data-protection law.
Government spokesperson Elma Saiz said Spain would not allow digital sexual violence against children to be “amplified or protected” by algorithms and confirmed the cabinet would formally request the attorney general to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute companies that violated the law.
Meta said it could not comment because it lacked detailed information about the proposed investigation but stated it maintains a strong stance against child sexual exploitation and non-consensual intimate imagery, removing such content when detected. X and TikTok were also approached for comment.
Sánchez’s push has drawn sharp criticism from major tech figures. Earlier this month, he said urgent action was required because social media had become a “failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated,” and accused Musk of using X to amplify disinformation about Spain’s decision to regularise 500,000 undocumented workers and asylum seekers. Musk responded by calling Sánchez “a tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain” and a “true fascist totalitarian.”
The measures also prompted a reaction from Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram, who sent a message to all users in Spain accusing the government of pushing “dangerous new regulations” that could turn the country “into a surveillance state under the guise of ‘protection’.” Spanish officials said the message demonstrated why social media and messaging platforms require regulation, arguing foreign tech executives should not be able to “flood our phones with propaganda at will.”
Rising concern about social media’s harms has led several governments, including Britain, Greece and France, to consider stricter laws. In December, Australia became the first nation to ban children under 16 from such platforms.
Editor’s Note:
This report details actions announced by the government of Spain under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez regarding potential criminal investigations into X, Meta, and TikTok over alleged AI-generated child sexual abuse material. It also references related regulatory scrutiny by the European Commission and statements from figures including Elon Musk and Pavel Durov. The article reflects official statements, investigative actions, and publicly reported responses at the time of writing.
