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Spain’s Sanchez: we won’t be swayed by tech oligarchs on social media ban

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Spain will press ahead with plans to restrict young people’s access to social media and tighten regulation of online platforms, despite criticism from major technology figures, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday.

Speaking at an event in Madrid, Sanchez accused what he described as “tech oligarchs of the algorithm” of attempting to influence democratic decisions by spreading misinformation through their platforms. “Democracy will obviously not be swayed by the tech oligarchs of the algorithm,” Sanchez said, adding that powerful technology executives were using their reach to mislead the public.

His comments came a day after Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, joined Elon Musk in criticising Spain’s proposals to ban access to social media for users under 16 and to hold platform executives legally accountable for hate speech. Durov warned in a message sent to Spanish Telegram users that the legislation could force platforms to collect data on all users and enable governments to control what content people see. Musk, meanwhile, described Sanchez on X as “a tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain.”

The Spanish government responded by saying Durov’s mass message to Telegram users illustrated why regulation of social media and messaging apps was urgently needed to protect citizens from misleading or manipulative information.

Spain is aligning itself with a broader European push to rein in the influence of major technology platforms. Countries including Britain, Greece and France are weighing tougher restrictions on social media use by minors, following Australia’s decision last year to prohibit access for children under 16.

Sanchez has been an outspoken critic of large technology companies since early last year, when he floated proposals to end anonymity on social media and link user accounts to a common European Union digital identity wallet. His government argues such measures are necessary to protect children, safeguard democratic debate and curb the spread of harmful or deceptive content online.

Scientists Confirm Date of the “Solar Eclipse of the Century,” Visible From Spain in 2027

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Astronomers have confirmed that the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century — often dubbed the “eclipse of the century” — will occur on August 2, 2027, and parts of southern Spain will be among the places able to witness it.

According to calculations cited by NASA, the total solar eclipse will last up to 6 minutes and 23 seconds at its maximum, making it the longest total eclipse of this century. Events of this duration are extremely rare and will not occur again until 2114.

The length of totality will vary by location. In Spain, the eclipse will be visible primarily in southern Andalusia, including areas such as Málaga and Cádiz, though totality there will last for a shorter period than in regions closer to the center of the eclipse path.

The eclipse will begin over the Atlantic Ocean near the Strait of Gibraltar and move across North Africa, passing through Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya before reaching Egypt, where the city of Luxor is expected to offer optimal viewing conditions with more than six minutes of total darkness.

Astronomers say the event will provide a rare opportunity for both scientific observation and public viewing, as long-duration total eclipses allow extended study of the Sun’s corona and other solar phenomena.

Spain’s Multiverse Raises $217 Million to Compress AI Language Models

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Spanish artificial intelligence startup Multiverse Computing announced it has secured €189 million ($217 million) in funding from Bullhound Capital, HP Inc, Forgepoint Capital, and Toshiba to advance its technology for compressing AI language models.

Multiverse has developed a compression technology that can reduce the size of large language models (LLMs) by up to 95% without sacrificing performance, enabling cost reductions of up to 80%. The method blends concepts from quantum physics and machine learning to emulate quantum systems but does not require a quantum computer.

This recent funding round positions Multiverse as the largest AI startup in Spain and places it among leading European AI companies such as Mistral, Aleph Alpha, Synthesia, Poolside, and Owkin.

Multiverse has already released compressed versions of popular LLMs, including Meta’s Llama, China’s DeepSeek, and France’s Mistral, with plans to expand its model offerings. CEO Enrique Lizaso Olmos highlighted the focus on compressing widely used open-source LLMs, noting that many corporations currently rely on the Llama model family.

The compressed AI models are also available through Amazon Web Services’ AI marketplace, facilitating broader industry adoption.