The fight between the Government and the large digital platforms has added this Wednesday to a new episode with a strong political charge after Pedro Sánchez’s announcement about the prohibition of access to social networks for those under 16 years of age.
Pável Dúrov, co-founder and head of Telegram, sent a message to millions of users in Spain in which he accuses Pedro Sánchez’s Executive of promoting “dangerous regulations” that would turn the country into “a surveillance state” and threaten freedom of expression and privacy on the internet.
The Government reacted harshly and accused the Russian businessman of telling “several lies” and launching “illegitimate attacks” against Spanish institutions.
The founder of Telegram charges against the digital regulation announced by the Government
The message, distributed simultaneously through the messaging application itself to its 8.5 million users in Spain, warned against the prohibition of the use of social networks by minors under 16 years of age with mandatory age verification, the possible criminal liability of the platforms’ directors for not removing illegal or hateful content and the control of the algorithmic amplification of messages considered harmful.
In his text, Pável Dúrov warned that this set of initiatives would represent “a red alarm signal for freedom of expression and privacy” and a “profound change in the functioning of the Internet.” In his opinion, mandatory age verification “establishes a dangerous precedent” by requiring identification mechanisms that “could be extended to all users,” as he warns.
The founder of Telegram maintained that the tightening of the legal responsibility of the platforms “will force over-censorship”, since it would push for a preventive elimination of content to avoid sanctions and will end up “silencing open debate.” Along the same lines, he warned that control over algorithmic amplification would allow governments to “dictate what you see” and “bury opposing opinions.”
Durov concluded that these measures would lead to censorship, the erosion of anonymity, and greater government control of public debate, and called on users to “stay vigilant,” “demand transparency,” and “fight for their rights” before, he warned, restrictions extend beyond the protection of minors.
Moncloa accuses Telegram of propaganda and defends the need to regulate the networks
From Moncloa they stressed that the use of control of a private platform to send a massive political message to millions of citizens is an “unprecedented” event in Spain.
Executive sources mentioned by Europa Press They defended that the episode itself demonstrates the “urgent need to regulate social networks and messaging applications,” and rejected that the announced initiatives seek to restrict freedoms. “We Spaniards cannot live in a world in which foreign techno-oligarchs can flood our phones with propaganda at will,” they noted.
The Government cited data from the Eurobarometer, according to which 95% of Spaniards declare themselves concerned about misinformation and hate speech, and 89% about the concentration of power and the lack of transparency of the algorithms. In this way, the Executive insists that its objective is to protect minors, combat illegal content and guarantee that platforms comply with the law.
Government sources went further by recalling that Dúrov is being investigated in different countries for his possible responsibility in serious crimes and accused Telegram of having repeatedly failed to comply with its control obligations.
According to Moncloa, the platform has “deliberately designed an architecture of minimal moderation” that has turned the application “into a recurring space for documented criminal activities, such as child sexual abuse networks or drug trafficking, with cases investigated in countries such as France, South Korea or Spain.”
Sánchez, Puente and Díaz raise the tone against the “techno-oligarchs”
The clash also spread to social networks. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, ironically stated in X: “Let the techno-oligarchs bark, Sancho, it is a sign that we are riding.”
On the other hand, the Minister of Transportation, Óscar Puente, announced that he was uninstalling Telegram and defended that holding the platform owners responsible for harmful content “is the end of these satraps.” Likewise, the second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, spoke out, denouncing in Bluesky the sending of an “unauthorized” message and promising to “break digital monopolies.”