Read the following text and answer questions 39, 40 and 41.

Spain announces plans to ban social media for under -16s

Spain has become the latest European country to make plans to ban social media for children under the age of 16. The ban, which still needs parliamentary approval, is part of a raft of changes that include making company executives responsible for "illegal or harmful content" on their platforms.

Australia became the world's first country to bring in a ban last year, with others watching - and judging - its success. France, Denmark and Austria have also announced that they are considering their own national age limits.

The UK government has launched a consultation on whether to implement a ban for under-16s. Social media companies have argued that the bans would be ineffective, difficult to implement and could isolate vulnerable teenagers. Reddit is challenging Australia's ban in the High Court.

The new laws would also criminalise manipulating algorithms to amplify illegal content. The European Commission has launched an investigation into Grok [X's AI tool] over concerns it was used to create sexualised images of real people. The UK has announced its own investigation into Grok and on Tuesday in France, the offices of X were raided by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit as it looked into allegations of offences including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography.

In response to the announcement, X owner Elon Musk labelled Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as a "tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain". TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit, Discord and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram have all been approached for comment. France has led the charge in Europe, with President Emmanuel Macron saying he wants a ban for under-15s in place by the start of the next school year in September.

WERTHEIMER, T. Spain announces plans to ban social media for under-16s, February 4th, 2026. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ c5y2nddvmryo