The Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, has initiated an action to find out what measures the Administration is taking to “address the possible harmful consequences for minors from certain content dictated by social media algorithms,” according to a statement. Specifically, the Ombudsman has reached out to the State Secretariat for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, the Mental Health Commissioner of the Ministry of Health, and the State Attorney General’s Office to learn how they are protecting minors.
This action was opened after receiving a complaint from the father of a defenseless minor regarding social networks, expressing concern about the vulnerability of both the minor and her family environment. The minor, a user of the X network, self-harmed and had suicidal tendencies. Before turning to the Ombudsman, the minor’s father unsuccessfully reported the situation to the well-known social network, owned by magnate Elon Musk. The company, at the center of numerous controversies over the toxicity of its content, considered that the content was lawful. Gabilondo’s office, however, considers that the facts reported by the minor’s father “could be criminal in nature, as contemplated in articles 143 bis and 156 ter of the Penal Code.”
According to the Ombudsman’s office, “minors who, as a result of using social networks, are exposed to harmful content” may be induced to take “risks to their physical integrity and even their lives.” While the institution acknowledges that it is the minor who voluntarily accesses these networks, and once there seeks “certain content” or joins “groups where dangerous practices are disseminated,” subsequently “it is the algorithm itself that detects this behavior and automatically provides harmful information.”
In this context, the Ombudsman wants to know what is being done by the State Secretariat for Telecommunications to prevent these types of negative consequences from platforms “to avoid situations like the one faced by this minor, in the interest of the minor in scenarios of extreme danger and risk to life.”
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Gabilondo’s team has also requested the Mental Health Commissioner of the Ministry of Health to indicate “if they have contact means so that either the minors themselves or their families receive immediate information or assistance on the protocol to follow in these types of situations.”
They have also requested the State Attorney General’s Office “information on actions related to the application of the cited Penal Code articles, in order to safeguard the interests of minors in situations of extreme danger and risk to life.”
