Elon Musk calls Spanish PM a ‘tyrant’ over plan to ban under-16s from social media and curb hateful content

Elon Musk has insulted Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez after he gave a speech at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, in which he announced plans to tackle hateful content on social media and a ban on use by under-16s. Photograph: Ali Haider/EPA

Spain has proposed a ban on social media use by teenagers as attitudes hardened in Europe against the technology, drawing personal insults against the prime minister from Elon Musk.

The government is preparing a series of measures including a social media ban for under-16s, the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said, promising to protect children from the “digital wild west” and hold tech companies responsible for hateful and harmful content.