Spain has ordered prosecutors to investigate X, Meta and TikTok over concerns that AI tools may be used to generate illegal child sexual abuse material.
Madrid: The Spanish government has asked prosecutors to investigate social media sites X, Meta, and TikTok regarding claims that artificial intelligence tools associated with the social media sites could have been used to produce and share child sexual abuse content.
This was announced by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who said that the government would formally ask the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate whether the companies have broken Spanish criminal law by not doing enough to prevent the spread of illegal AI-generated content featuring minors.
Sánchez said that the problem is a “serious threat to the rights and mental health of children” and that the government would not “tolerate impunity” on the part of “giant technology companies.”
Allegations Focus on AI Tools
The probe will also investigate whether the use of generative AI tools on or in conjunction with these platforms has been used to produce fake but realistic images of minors in sexually explicit conduct. Even if the images are faked, Spanish law makes such content illegal if it portrays child sexual abuse.
The probe will also investigate whether content moderation tools and age verification tools are adequate to prevent such content.
Growing Regulatory Pressure
Spain’s move is part of a larger European regulatory focus on large tech companies, under laws such as the Digital Services Act, which obliges platforms to take an active role in mitigating systemic risks, including the spread of illegal content.
The investigation marks a tougher approach by the Spanish government to online child protection and AI accountability. There have been suggestions that additional legislation may be introduced, which could impose more legal obligations on tech CEOs and greater regulation of AI systems.
Companies Yet to Respond
As of the time of publication, X, Meta, and TikTok had not released a detailed response to the announcement made by the Spanish government. Each of the three companies has a policy that bans child sexual exploitation content and uses advanced technology to detect and remove such content.
The Spanish Prosecutor’s Office is expected to evaluate the practices of the platforms against the country’s criminal laws and the digital laws of Europe.
Disclaimer
This article is written in reference to publicly available information and official statements about an announced investigation by the Spanish authorities. The claims mentioned in this article do not represent any findings of guilt. X, Meta, and TikTok have not been convicted or formally charged in relation to the claims mentioned at the time of publication. The investigation is still ongoing, and all parties mentioned are presumed to be innocent unless otherwise proven by a court of law.
This article is written in reference to issues related to artificial intelligence and child safety on the internet for public interest and informational purposes only. No explicit content is described or displayed. Any mention of illegal content is done in a journalistic and regulatory capacity.
