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Spain’s Ministry of Youth and Children asked TikTok to suspend its operations in Spain until it removes all child sexual abuse material from the platform. Minister Sira Rego also asked the Spanish Data Protection Agency to consider a temporary suspension of the service.
The government referred the matter to the State Attorney General’s Office. It wants prosecutors to investigate the alleged abuse and take measures to protect minors. The ministry did not announce a final ban.
The demand follows an investigation by Spanish fact-checking organization Maldita.es. Researchers identified 1,183 public posts containing explicit child sexual abuse material during a 35-day review between September 11 and October 15, 2026.
The posts had received at least 48 million views. Maldita.es also identified more than 20,000 accounts suspected of involvement in child sexual exploitation, including 231 accounts that posted the abusive material.
The organization said TikTok removed only about 10 percent of the content it flagged in Spain and blocked 26 percent of the illegal posts. The organization said many videos remained available despite repeated reports.
Minister Rego said TikTok’s detection and moderation systems had failed. She demanded that the company remove the reported content, block the accounts involved and cooperate fully with Spanish authorities. Rego also sought an urgent meeting with the company’s representatives in Spain
The request to prosecutors does not immediately shut down TikTok in Spain. It starts a legal and regulatory process that could lead to enforcement action against the platform. The ministry also asked TikTok to explain how it will prevent children under 13 from using the platform.
The case intensified scrutiny of TikTok’s child-safety systems in Europe. Madrid’s next move will depend on the prosecutor’s investigation, the data-protection authority’s assessment and TikTok’s response to the government’s demands.
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