Spain on Tuesday ordered prosecutors to investigate Meta, X, and TikTok over allegations that the platforms were spreading AI-generated sexual images of minors—a move following similar action in the United Kingdom. Ireland also launched a formal probe into X’s AI chatbot Grok, focusing on its handling of personal data and its potential to produce harmful sexualized content.
Meanwhile, several European countries—including France, Spain, Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic—have recently proposed restricting adolescent access to social media. Authorities cite rising concerns over online addiction, abuse, and declining school performance. Germany and Britain are reportedly considering similar measures.
Acting Independently From the EU
These national initiatives reflect both urgency and frustration with the European Union. Politicians and analysts say governments are moving alone because they doubt Brussels will act quickly or forcefully enough, despite the legal, diplomatic, and enforcement challenges individual countries face.
Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), effective since 2024, major platforms face fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover if they fail to address illegal or harmful content. Yet enforcement remains politically sensitive. The U.S. has repeatedly warned against measures that could affect American tech companies. Former President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs and sanctions if European actions target U.S. firms.
The European Commission, however, maintains that it is actively regulating Big Tech. In a statement Tuesday, it highlighted ongoing investigations, including against X and its AI tool Grok. “Through measures like the DSA, the EU is shaping Europe’s digital future. It is supporting, funding, and regulating new technologies with a goal to strengthen democracy,” the statement said.
French President Emmanuel Macron has described U.S. resistance to European regulation as a “geopolitical battle,” while Trump’s administration warned in December that Europe risked “civilizational erasure” if it pursued restrictive digital policies. Spain’s Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy framed the crackdown as an effort to “break free from digital dependence on the United States,” claiming some platforms threaten to “destabilize European democracies from within.”
Triggers for Action
Several recent incidents have accelerated national responses. A modification to the DSA guidelines on July 14, allowing countries to set national age restrictions, prompted Denmark to act independently. In Spain, the final trigger for restricting social media use for under-16s—and for making CEOs legally accountable for hate speech—was Grok generating non-consensual sexualized images of minors, according to Youth and Children Minister Sira Rego.
In France, Macron pointed to the fatal stabbing of a school aide by a 14-year-old student in June as a turning point, saying he would push for either an EU-wide ban on adolescent social media use or unilateral national action. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cited Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, arguing that smartphones and social media are “rewiring” children’s brains. “We are running the biggest unchecked experiment with our children’s brains ever,” he said.
As European governments navigate legal hurdles and geopolitical sensitivities, the debate over child safety, social media, and U.S.–EU relations shows no sign of slowing.