SPAIN · TECHNOLOGY
Spain’s Ministry of Youth and Children asked the state prosecutor-general’s office on Monday 9 November 2026 to act on evidence of child sexual abuse material on TikTok, the short-video app. The ministry also raised the possibility of halting the platform’s services in Spain if it were considered appropriate, according to ministry sources quoted by El Salto, a Spanish news outlet.
This is a government request to prosecutors, not a ban. Maldita.es, a Spanish fact-checking nonprofit, says TikTok removed only some of the material it found.
Key Facts
- Who Spain’s Ministry of Youth and Children, led by Minister Sira Rego, asked the prosecutor-general to act.
- What Maldita.es, a Spanish fact-checking nonprofit, documented over 1,000 abusive videos and images with 48 million views.
- The ask Rego asked TikTok’s representatives in Spain for an urgent meeting.
- Status This is a request, not a ban; whether prosecutors act is not known.
What the Ministry Asked For
The ministry sent a letter to the Fiscalía General del Estado, Spain’s state prosecutor-general’s office, asking it to act on a Maldita.es investigation, according to El Salto (9 November 2026). Escudo Digital, a Spanish technology outlet, dated its report of the move 9 November 2026 at 13:42.
Minister Sira Rego also asked TikTok’s representatives in Spain for an urgent meeting, El Salto reported. She wants explanations, the measures already taken and the actions planned immediately.
What Maldita.es Found
In its own report of 9 November 2026, Maldita.es says it found more than 200 profiles that posted over 1,000 videos and images of explicit child sexual abuse, which together drew 48 million views. The videos were collected between 11 September and 15 October 2026.
As of 15 October 2026, 136 of the 231 accounts Maldita.es analysed, or 59%, were still active, although TikTok’s policies say such accounts are permanently banned. Maldita.es also reported 50 of the videos to TikTok through its moderation system, and says TikTok deleted only 10% of them.
How the Ministry Sees It
The ministry called the facts documented by Maldita.es “of extreme gravity” and said they need an immediate, coordinated answer from all competent administrations, national and European, according to El Salto. It said they show serious deficiencies in detection and moderation and in TikTok’s recommendation systems, the software that chooses which videos users see.
In the ministry’s opinion, those failings could amount to a violation of children’s rights by the platform itself. In January 2026 it had already asked prosecutors to act against Grok, the AI tool of the social network X, after a study showed it was used to generate non-consensual sexual content, El Salto reported.
Further Steps Reported by La Diaria
La diaria, a Uruguayan daily, reported on 11 November 2026 that the ministry also wrote to Spain’s data protection agency, the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, asking it to request that TikTok cease activity. The same report says Rego also asked TikTok to suspend its activity in Spain after a meeting with company representatives.
Under the EU data protection regulation, known as GDPR, an authority may adopt urgent measures for up to three months “in exceptional circumstances” to protect rights and freedoms, la diaria wrote. The article is partly paywalled, and we could not confirm these steps with a second report or an official statement.
Why It Matters
The ministry wrote to the prosecutor-general’s office, and la diaria reports a second letter to the data protection agency. Which body acts first, if either, is not known.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether the prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation, or whether a suspension is legally possible. Nor is it known what TikTok has said, what was discussed at the meeting la diaria mentions, or whether the steps reported by la diaria happened as described.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Did Spain Ask Prosecutors to Do?
The Ministry of Youth and Children asked the prosecutor-general’s office to act on a Maldita.es investigation into child sexual abuse material on TikTok. It also raised halting TikTok’s services in Spain if it were considered appropriate, according to ministry sources.
Is TikTok Banned in Spain?
No. This is a ministry request to prosecutors, and whether a suspension is legally possible is not known.
What Did Maldita.es Find?
Maldita.es reports more than 200 profiles that posted over 1,000 videos and images of explicit child sexual abuse, with 48 million views. It says 136 of 231 accounts analysed were still active on 15 October 2026.
Sources: Ministerio de Juventud e Infancia statement as reported, 9 November 2026; El Salto, 9 November 2026; Escudo Digital, 9 November 2026; la diaria, 11 November 2026; Maldita.es investigation, 9 November 2026.
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