Billionaire and owner of network
On the network, Musk republished a text highlighting Sánchez’s new measures with the comment: “Sujo Sánchez is a tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain”. In other messages, the billionaire also called the prime minister a “fascist totalitarian”.
During an event in Madrid, this Thursday (5), the prime minister responded to criticism from Musk and Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, who also attacked the new legislation, classifying it as a “dangerous regulation” that would lead the country to a surveillance state.
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“Democracy will obviously not be influenced by technology and algorithm oligarchs,” Sánchez said.
During his term, Sánchez has toughened his tone against large technology platforms and the lack of regulations that restrict users’ activities on the internet. Among his main proposals, the prime minister defends the end of anonymity on networks and the linking of all users’ data to digital identity cards.
In 2025, Sánchez also directly criticized Elon Musk, stating that the businessman leads the extreme right in the world, “which incites hatred and openly supports the heirs of Nazism in Germany”.
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New legislation
Spain is trying to ban access to social media for people under 16, and platforms will be forced to implement age verification systems to comply with the measure. The Sánchez government argues that networks have become fertile ground for the spread of misinformation and hate speech, with negative effects on young people.
The measure follows the example of Australia, which became the first country to ban social networks for children under 16.
Spain will also present, next week, a bill to hold social media executives responsible for illegal and hateful content, in addition to criminalizing algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content.
Pressure
On Tuesday (3), Elon Musk and, in particular, the platform’s artificial intelligence, Grok.
The measure comes after reports that AI had been used to generate sexual images without consent — including of minors, which constitutes child pornography.
In Brazil, the Federal Public Ministry, in partnership with the National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) and the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon), recommended immediate measures to stop the production and distribution of this content.
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Among the recommendations are: creation of technical procedures to identify, review and remove digital nudes present on X; immediate suspension of the accounts involved; implementation of reporting mechanisms with adequate response time; and preparation of a personal data protection impact report specific to synthetic content generation activities.
This week, . In addition to him, authorities also summoned Linda Yaccarino, former CEO of the company, to a hearing on April 20, in which both are expected to be questioned about suspected abuse of algorithms and creation of tools that enable deepfakes, such as the use of Grok artificial intelligence.
In July, Musk had already denied the accusations and classified the French operation as “a politically motivated criminal investigation”.
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The authorities’ position follows the global wave of pressure against xAI. Since the beginning of the year, the situation has led to investigations, restrictions or suspension of service in different countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, France and India, in addition to the State of California, in the USA.
