Spanish feminist targeted by AI fakes wants stricter online regulations

By David Latona

MADRID, Feb 27 (Reuters) – A Spanish women’s rights activist who suffered online abuse, including AI-generated fake nude images, said the government’s pledge to regulate social media does ​not go far enough, calling for anonymous accounts to ‌be made traceable to end impunity for digital violence.

As Europe’s push to rein in U.S.-based tech giants is shifting from fines and takedown notices to stiffer measures, Madrid wants to impose a ban on under-16s accessing social media ‌and ​criminal liability for platform executives who fail ⁠to remove illegal or ⁠hateful content.

France, Greece and Poland are weighing similar measures after Australia became the first country to block social media for children under 16 in December.

Carla Galeote, a 25-year-old lawyer and prominent ​online feminist commentator, told Reuters governments were reacting only now because digital violence had become impossible to ignore, although the ⁠problem predated AI.

“Social media isn’t new – and ⁠the violence is brutal, systematic, 24/7,” Galeote said. “What ​hit me hardest wasn’t the deepfake, it was going to the police ​and being told it wasn’t even a crime.”

She dismissed ‌plans to ban children from social media as “paternalistic”, arguing all users, regardless of age, need protection from digital abuse.

Spain’s proposed law has sparked backlash from tech company executives, who accuse Prime Minister Pedro ⁠Sanchez of threatening free speech. Galeote, however, believes regulation and freedom of expression can coexist.

“It’s impossible to think that a man on the ⁠street could shout that ‌they’ll rape you and nothing happens, but ⁠that’s what we’re seeing online,” she said.

Instead of ​imposing easily ‌absorbable fines, Galeote advocated barring platforms from major ​markets, like ⁠the European Union, for repeated violations.

While defending pseudonymous online use, Galeote emphasized the need for traceable identities behind all accounts.

“Call yourself ‘PeppaPig88’ if you want – fine. But there has to be a real identity behind that account,” she said.

(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Aislinn Laing ​and Andrei Khalip)