<h6><strong>Ane Barcos</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Spain, along with France and Greece, presented a European initiative this Thursday to strengthen the protection of minors in the digital environment. Upon his arrival at the Telecommunications Council, the Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Administration, Óscar López Águeda, explained that the proposal arose after observing "truly shocking data" on the access of children as young as 12 or 13 to pornographic content. "Something must be done," he warned.</strong></h4> The minister recalled that the Prime Minister was "the first to raise his voice" in Europe on this issue, and emphasized that other countries such as Denmark, which will soon assume the presidency of the EU Council, will also join this initiative. The objective, he explained, is for the entire European Union to share an effective tool for verifying the age of users. "The most important thing is that what is happening now doesn't happen again, and that is because the current so-called age verification systems are not," he stated. Although the EU proposal does not yet set a specific age for accessing social media, López Águeda noted that "Spain is working with the reference age of 16." This would not be an absolute ban, but rather would establish that minors can access it with parental consent or under conditions tailored to the type of content. He also noted that "Spain already has its own application" for age verification, and that the next step is to harmonize the system at the European level. In addition to the protection of minors, the minister addressed the need for Europe to strengthen its technological autonomy, particularly in satellite communications. He emphasized that, in light of the current geopolitical situation, "it is in Europe's interest to have autonomy also in satellite connectivity." He said that just as significant progress has been made in the deployment of broadband and 5G, Europe must now take a decisive step in developing its own satellite connectivity capacity. He also emphasized the importance of Europe positioning itself as a leader in the field of artificial intelligence. In his opinion, "if we want Europe to lead the world of artificial intelligence," it will be key to promote the so-called AI gigafactories, which are currently at the center of the European debate. He explained that Spain is already working to become the site of one of the first of these infrastructures, combining public and private investment. He also noted that the country already hosts a benchmark facility in this field: the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, one of the pioneering centers on the continent. At the national level, when asked about recent statements by other members of the PSOE regarding alleged critical militants, the minister simply stated that "the Socialist Party has already acted" and that the person in question "is no longer a member of the Socialist Party." Beyond internal debates, he wanted to highlight the institutional importance of the Conference of Presidents held in Catalonia, stating that it is "an excellent moment to reclaim institutionality" and emphasizing that, after years of tension, this meeting can now be held "normally" in Barcelona with the participation of all the autonomous communities. "We're seeing how today there are political discourses and practices that are breaking all bridges," he added, insisting that on days like this, it's important to focus on "the issues that concern people," such as housing.
