Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Wednesday the creation of a tool designed to measure the presence of hate speech on digital platforms and to hold accountable the tech billionaires who allow it to flourish.
The tool “will allow us to systematically measure the presence, evolution and reach of hate speech on digital platforms,” the Spanish premier said during his speech at the first Forum against Hate organised in Madrid.
It’s been named Hodio for Huella del Odio y la Polarización, “Footprint of Hate and Polarisation”.
The software will be implemented through the Spanish Observatory of Racism and Xenophobia and will be based “on recognised academic criteria”.
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The Spanish government has recently increased its criticism of tech billionaires and the social media platforms they run.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov sent a message to all its users in Spain claiming “dangerous new regulations threaten your internet freedoms”.
Elon Musk labelled Sánchez a “tyrant,” a “traitor to the people of Spain,” and a “true fascist totalitarian”
The PM responded by saying: “Do we want a technology that normalises and amplifies deception? That transforms privacy into a commodity? A society where a tech oligarch can interfere in the mobile phones of millions of citizens to tell them lies?”
READ ALSO: EU defends Spain’s PM after tech billionaires’ attack over social media ban
Hodio will analyse “the presence of hate speech and polarization on the main social networks used in Spain” and will produce a semi-annual report with a ranking to track developments on each platform, the Observatory says on its website.
“We will make the results public so that everyone knows who is curbing hate, who is turning a blind eye and who is profiting from hate,” Sánchez said during his speech, in which he again targeted the “tech oligarchs”.
“The objective is very clear: to bring hatred out of the shadows, to make it visible, to hold accountable those who do not act,” he added, noting that acts considered to be hate crimes had increased by 41 percent in Spain over the last decade.
“From now on, social media platforms will have to be held publicly accountable for every hateful piece of content they allow,” he stated.
Sánchez announced last month a series of measures aimed at strengthening control over social networks, including the intention to ban access to these platforms for those under 16.
READ ALSO: Why is Musk so opposed to Spain banning social media for under-16s?
Shortly afterwards, the Spanish government asked the public prosecutor’s office to open an investigation targeting X, Meta and TikTok for the creation of child pornography images using artificial intelligence, as other countries have already done.
With additional reporting by The Local Spain’s editor Alex Dunham.
