Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is pushing a sweeping plan to eliminate online anonymity, linking social media accounts to digital ID wallets and triggering fierce backlash over privacy and free speech.
AT A GLANCE
- Pedro Sanchez proposed tying social media accounts to government digital ID wallets.
- The plan also includes algorithm transparency and CEO accountability for online content.
- Critics warn it would open the door to mass surveillance and censorship.
- Spain already proposed laws forcing corrections to influencer posts deemed misinformation.
- The announcement came as Meta retreats from centralized moderation in favor of user-driven notes.
Sanchez Unveils Plan to End Online Anonymity
At the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stunned digital rights advocates by proposing an aggressive new strategy to reshape internet governance. The most controversial element? A plan to eliminate online anonymity by requiring users to link social media accounts to government-issued EU digital identity wallets.
“I propose putting an end to anonymity on social media,” Sanchez declared. His proposal is part of a three-pronged framework aimed at curbing online misinformation, hate speech, and what he described as algorithmic manipulation. In addition to mandating real-name identification, Sanchez called for increased transparency around how platforms promote content and proposed making social media CEOs personally liable for failure to comply with future regulations.
Watch Pedro Sanchez announce his plan at the World Economic Forum.
Spanish Government Pushes for Tighter Online Controls
Sanchez’s proposal follows a broader pattern of tightened digital oversight in Spain. In late 2024, the government introduced legislation requiring influencers and high-profile digital creators to issue corrections if their posts are deemed misleading by authorities. The bill, reported by The Guardian, targets users with over 100,000 followers on a single platform or 200,000 across platforms, significantly expanding the scope of content subject to state review.
Justice Minister Félix Bolaños defended the law, saying, “We’re making life more difficult for those who dedicate themselves to lies and spreading fake news every day,” claiming it is a step toward protecting democracy. But digital rights advocates argue the government’s moves centralize control over truth itself — a risky precedent in democratic societies.
Clash of Visions: State Regulation vs. Platform Reform
Sanchez’s proposal comes as major platforms like Meta are moving in the opposite direction. In January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would be shutting down its U.S. fact-checking program and shifting toward a more decentralized, user-led model modeled on X’s Community Notes. “It’s time to get back to our roots around free expression,” Zuckerberg said in a rare acknowledgment of past overreach.
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, also emphasized the need to “undo the mission creep” of over-enforcement. The timing of Meta’s move — alongside its relocation of moderation operations from California to Texas — underscores a widening ideological gap between tech giants and European regulators when it comes to the future of online discourse.
A High-Stakes Battle for Digital Freedom
Sanchez argues that online anonymity has “transformed us into a society increasingly divided and easy to manipulate,” but critics contend that eliminating anonymous speech risks enabling authoritarian control. Without the protection of anonymity, whistleblowers, activists, and dissenters could face persecution, especially in nations with weak free speech protections.
As Michael Shellenberger noted in a widely shared tweet, “This is not about stopping misinformation. It’s about control.” The proposed linkage of identity and expression mirrors concerns raised by digital civil liberties organizations about the potential for abuse and mass surveillance in similar schemes proposed in China and elsewhere.
While Sanchez insists his plan is a pro-democracy safeguard, its sweeping scope and surveillance potential have sparked alarms across the political spectrum. Whether Europe follows his lead or pushes back may determine the trajectory of online freedoms for years to come.
