Spain has become the latest European country to make plans to ban social media for children under the age of 16.
We will protect them from the digital Wild West, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday.
The ban, which still needs parliamentary approval, is part of a raft of changes that include making company executives responsible for illegal or harmful content on their platforms.
Australia became the world's first country to bring in a ban last year, with others watching - and judging - its success.
France, Denmark and Austria have also announced they are considering their own national age limits.
The UK government has launched a consultation on whether to implement a ban for under-16s.
Social media companies have argued that the bans would be ineffective, difficult to implement and could isolate vulnerable teenagers. Reddit is challenging Australia's ban in the High Court.
Today, our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone, Sánchez said, describing social media as a place of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation [and] violence.
We will no longer accept that. We will protect them, he vowed.
Sánchez first mooted a possible ban in November, but on Tuesday, the plan was fleshed out.
Under the changes, social media platforms would be required to have effective age verification systems, not just check boxes, but real barriers that work, the prime minister explained.
The new laws would also criminalize manipulating algorithms to amplify illegal content.
This is something created, promoted, and disseminated by certain actors whom we will investigate, as well as the platforms whose algorithms amplify disinformation in exchange for profit, Sánchez stated.
Hiding behind code and claiming that technology is neutral is no longer acceptable.
There would also be a new system designed to track how digital platforms fuel division and amplify hate. No further details were given on how this would work.
In terms of enforcement, Sánchez mentioned a targeted investigation into crimes committed by TikTok and Instagram.
The European Commission has launched an investigation into Grok, an AI tool, over concerns it was being used to create sexualized images of real people.
The UK has also announced its own investigation into Grok, and on Tuesday in France, the offices of X were raided by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit over allegations of data misuse.
X has yet to respond to these investigations but has previously condemned them as attacks on free speech.
Sánchez hopes to get the laws passed quickly, although his government faces challenges due to lacking a parliamentary majority. The main opposition party, the conservative People's Party, seems to approve the ban, mentioning they had previously proposed similar restrictions.
In contrast, the far-right Vox party has expressed opposition to the initiative. In a controversial response, X owner Elon Musk labeled Sánchez as a tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain.
France is leading a similar charge, with President Emmanuel Macron proposing a ban for under-15s to be enacted by the next school year.
