The Council of Ministers approved the draft law on Tuesday. This system is expected to appear by default on all devices, with the aim of protecting minors.
The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday a draft law for the protection of minors in digital environments. This measure will require technological devices to be factory-installed with free and accessible parental control. Specifically, it provides that it will have to be present on mobile phones, tablets, computers and smart TVs.
The Spanish Government proposes creating a virtual restraining order for those who commit crimes against minors in digital environments and reforming the Penal Code to penalize ‘ultra-forgeries’, the dissemination of false images or audio with sexual or derogatory content generated with artificial intelligence.
Félix Bolaños, Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Parliament, has detailed in the press conference the legal reforms contemplated in the preliminary draft, such as aggravating the penalties when the offender uses false identities and raising from 14 to 16 years the age to give consent for the processing of personal data when accessing social networks.
This system is expected to appear by default on all devices and to be configurable once turned on. The draft law includes the enshrinement of the rights of minors in digital environments, as well as the development of a National Strategy for the protection of children and young people in digital environments.
The Strategy will include thelabelling of digital content, with accessible language, where warnings will be added if it is not suitable for minors. Likewise, in the educational field, it will include a digital literacy plan, with specific mechanisms that give minors tools and autonomy with technological devices.
Este anteproyecto de ley va acompañado por un diagnóstico sobre el impacto de los entornos digitales en menores de edad realizado por el Ministerio de Juventud e Infancia, con las primeras aportaciones del grupo de 50 expertos.
The committee will present its report on 20 June in the plenary session and publicly afterwards, for the elaboration of the Strategy with concrete measures.
