Spain seeks probe into AI-generated child sexual abuse on TikTok, X and Meta
The Spanish government asked its public prosecutor on Tuesday (17 February) to investigate TikTok, X, and Meta for potentially spreading AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on their platforms.The move is an escalation in tension after the EU and national regulators stepped up scrutiny of how large social networks police illegal and harmful content.
Spain intends to prosecute digital sexual violence crimes — especially non-consensual AI-generated deepfakes — committed against minors on the major social media platforms. It is also looking into the liability of the platforms for disseminating the content.
Along with the investigation, Madrid also published a report investigating criminal liability for the issue, and found that AI tools and social media used together allow for near-instantaneous creation and distribution of CSAM.
It highlights how one-in-five Spanish children report having already been affected by AI sexualised deepfakes.
“These platforms are undermining the mental health, dignity, and rights of our children,” wrote Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, on social media.
“The state cannot allow this. The impunity of these giants must end,” he added.
Concern over AI child sexual abuse material on social media gained global attention earlier this year, when users on Elon Musk’s X began asking the platform’s public AI chatbot, Grok, to digitally undress millions of women, along with thousands of minors.
The Spanish probe follows other European initiatives from France and the European Commission itself, which are currently investigating X over the Grok incident, along with Ireland, which also opened an investigation into the matter on Tuesday.
Responding to the Spanish move, a commission spokesperson said on Tuesday: “We work closely with member states to fight online child pornography. This has no place in Europe and will not be tolerated.”
“If a government, if a national member state, goes against individuals at national level who have sold such type of products in the EU or have published such type of content, they can do it, because we don’t hold people accountable. We hold platforms accountable,” the spokesperson added.
Sánchez’s move comes as part of an explicit pledge by the Spanish PM to “bring order” to social media in Dubai earlier this month.
His measures aim to change the law to hold social media executives legally accountable for illegal content on their platforms, and include a Spanish social media ban for children under 16 in the safety initiative, which aligns with the groundbreaking Australian social media ban for children.
Musk, owner of X, responded to those new moves at the time by writing on X: “Dirty Sánchez is a tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain.”
None of the social media platforms responded for comment in time for publication.
