Argentina and Spain advance new laws to curb social‑media harms

In Argentina, a bill introduced in Congress on June 9 seeks to impose safety, privacy and legal‑responsibility rules on large social‑media platforms to protect children from grooming, digital gambling and addictive screen use. The proposal, presented by deputies Nicolás Trotta, Roxana Monzón, Pablo Yedlin and Hugo Yasky, would require age‑based restrictions, ban algorithms that induce compulsive use, prohibit gambling ads to minors, mandate stricter identity verification and the use of AI to detect risky behavior, and force platforms to maintain a legal and tax presence in the country.

In Spain, parliamentary amendments to the Digital Environment Law, backed by the Sumar coalition and the PSOE, set a minimum age of 16 for access to commercial social networks that do not meet safety standards. Platforms must demonstrate to the national competition regulator that they avoid addictive design, protect privacy, provide tools against unwanted contact and do not profit from users' vulnerability. The law also holds companies and executives accountable for algorithmic amplification of harmful content such as suicide promotion, child sexual abuse material or hate speech, without criminalising legitimate expression.

Both initiatives reflect growing political pressure in Latin America and Europe to regulate the digital ecosystem and place greater responsibility on tech companies for the wellbeing of minors.