Spain Orders Criminal Investigation Into X, Meta, and TikTok Over Alleged AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material
by
Connor Greene - TIME
Feb 17, 2026 4:33 PM CT
The Spanish government has called for an investigation into social media giants X, Meta, and TikTok over their alleged role in producing and spreading AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
"The Council of Ministers will invoke Article 8 of the Organic Statute of the Public Prosecution Service to request that it investigate the crimes that X, Meta and TikTok may be committing through the creation and dissemination of child pornography by means of their AI," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X on Tuesday. Sánchez accused the platforms of “attacking the mental health, dignity and rights of our sons and daughters,” saying that “the impunity of the giants must end.”
The call comes as Spain moves to crack down on social media more broadly. While speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai earlier this month, Sánchez announced plans to ban social media for kids under the age of 16, among a series of other measures aimed at social media platforms. The proposed ban, which still needs parliamentary approval, comes after Australia became the first country in the world to implement such a prohibition in December, and as other nations including France and Denmark have made moves to enact similar measures.