Spain's PP proposes social media age checks for minors

Spain's main opposition party, the People's Party (PP), has announced plans to ban social media access for children under 14 and limit infinite scrolling. However, it has not detailed how age verification will work without requiring national ID cards from all users. This missing piece determines whether the measure remains a protection tool or becomes an identification system.

The PP’s proposal rests on three pillars: banning under-14s, limiting infinite scroll, and mandating nighttime breaks on platforms. The announcement lacked the crucial detail of how age verification would actually be implemented.

## Age verification: the gap in the announcement

Preventing anyone under 14 from entering a social network requires knowing their age. Currently, there is no way to check this without asking for a document. Proponents assume that providing a DNI (Spanish National Identity Document) or an equivalent system will be necessary.

This creates a problem. A DNI does more than show a birth date; it identifies a specific person. If every platform demands it, each one knows who you are and what you do. Child protection comes at the cost of registering identified adults.

## The cost of identifying everyone

Technical alternatives exist: verification systems that confirm age without revealing identity, using intermediaries to issue credentials. These work but are expensive, and none have been deployed at scale in Spain.

Without such development, the cheaper route antiestéticared by critics is likely: demanding the DNI and turning each social network into a registry of located users. What starts as child protection could end up as mass identification infrastructure.

## What the law says and what remains undecided

European regulations already require platforms to protect minors, and Spain is working on a draft digital environment law. The PP’s announcement fits within this framework but fails to specify the mechanism.

The difference between anonymous credentials and mandatory IDs is not technical—it is political. It will decide whether the measure protects children or identifies everyone else. Any legal change of this magnitude should be checked against current regulations and expert advice.