Spain to launch new tool to measure hate on social media

Spain aims to introduce a new tool designed to measure hate speech on digital platforms, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed on Wednesday, an announcement which comes after he presented a bill to protect minors on the internet this year.

This initiative forms part of a broader governmental strategy aimed at enhancing oversight of social media companies.

During the inauguration in Madrid of the first International Summit against Hate and Digital Harassment, Sánchez announced the launch of HODIO (Huella del Odio y la Polarización) (source in Spanish), a system designed to analyse how hate messages are spread on social networks and to assess the role of algorithms in the amplification of polarising content.

"If hate is already dangerous, social networks have turned it into a weapon of mass polarisation that ends up seeping into everyday life," said the Spanish leader. "The digital environment cannot be a space without rules, today social networks are a failed state," he added.