Durov Warns Spain’s Rules Threaten Online Freedom

• Spain’s new internet rules mandate ID checks and criminal liability.
• Telegram’s Pavel Durov warned of a full monitoring model in Spain.
• New rules could let governments shape feeds and suppress content labeled harmful.

Spain’s government has unveiled a new set of internet rules that would force deep identity checks, heavy content controls, and direct criminal risk for tech executives. The announcement came this week and was pitched as user protection. Critics say the real outcome is wider surveillance and tighter state control over online speech.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov addressed Spanish users directly, warning that the rules move Spain closer to a full monitoring model. 

Mandatory ID Checks and Forced Censorship

One core rule bans social media access for users under 16 and forces platforms to verify age using official documents or biometric tools. This requires identity checks at scale. Once systems like this exist, expanding them to all users is trivial, and anonymous posting effectively ends.

Another rule makes platform executives personally and criminally liable if content labeled illegal, hateful, or harmful is not removed fast enough. While the wording is broad, the incentive is clear.

With the rules in place, platforms will delete first and review later. Political criticism, journalism, and unpopular views could become legal risks, not speech.

Another clause criminalizes algorithmic amplification of content deemed harmful. This gives the state leverage over what users see. Feeds stop being neutral ranking systems and turn into filtered channels shaped by government rules, Durov noted.

Platforms must also track and report their so‑called hate and polarization footprint. Since no clear definition exists, regulators could have room to tag dissent as division and punish platforms that host it.

Crypto Taxes Move Toward Punitive Levels

At the same time, Spain is tightening pressure on crypto holders through tax reform. In November, the Sumar parliamentary group proposed changes to three major tax laws covering crypto assets. The plan shifts crypto gains from the savings tax category into the general income tax.

The result is a higher top rate as individual crypto gains would be taxed up to 47% instead of the current 30%. Corporate crypto holdings would face a flat 30% rate.

Sumar holds 26 of 350 seats in Congress and is a junior partner in the ruling coalition with the Socialist Party. While not dominant, its proposals influence policy direction.

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