Telegram's Durov says proposed Spanish social media restrictions censors critics

Telegram founder Pavel Durov on Wednesday joined Elon Musk in publicly criticising plans by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to ban social media access for youth under 16 and to prosecute executives for hate speech on their platforms.



Durov said in a message on Telegram to users that Spain's proposed legislative package would force social media platforms to gather data on all users, and its measures to curb hate speech would prompt platforms to strip content to avoid prosecution.



The proposal by Sanchez would criminalise the use of algorithms deemed to ‍be amplifying harmful content, and Durov, who is based in Dubai, said this would allow governments to control what users see.



"These aren't safeguards; they're steps toward total control. We've seen this playbook before - governments weaponizing 'safety' to censor critics," he wrote on Telegram.