Stop press! Spain sidelines social scrolling!

Spain is preparing to pull the plug on social media for under-16s, joining France and Australia in trying to civilise what Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has described as the ‘digital Wild West’. Announcing the plan, Sánchez accused social media firms of presiding over a realm of crime and misconduct, run by companies ‘wealthier and more powerful than many nations’. Children, he warned, are being left alone in a world of addiction, abuse, pornography and manipulation. Spain, he said firmly, has had enough!

Spain intends to follow France’s lead and insist on genuine age verification rather than polite tick boxes. Sánchez also confirmed Spain will join France and other countries in a new European ‘coalition of the willing’, aiming to regulate social media together – and, ideally, give parents a quieter evening.

As I’ve written here before, artificial intelligence has its drawbacks. It promises every child the deluxe upbringing once reserved for the wealthy – bespoke lessons, personalised entertainment and video games that adapt to their every whim. A “royal” childhood for the masses – what could go wrong?

Plenty! AI tutors can hallucinate nonsense – one over-friendly teddy was caught whispering frankly kinky suggestions (Oops!). Children can cheat, bully and deepfake alarmingly easily. Even when systems “work”, AI builds cosy echo chambers where youngsters encounter only their favourite topics – and endlessly agreeable chatbot “friends”.

Finally, many thanks for emails to my website below! Delighted you enjoy my column – and novels!

Nora Johnson’s 14 critically acclaimed psychological suspense crime thrillers, including the latest ‘The House of Secrets’ (www.nora-johnson.net), all available online at Amazon etc. Profits to Cudeca cancer charity.