Spain

Spanish Law on the 31/2000 EU Directive on e-Commerce and Information Society Services as now complemented by the EU 2022/2065 Data Services Regulation (Spanish DSA) The Spanish DSA sets out what liability social networks are subject to regarding the content exchanged through them. Courts have consistently exempted social networks from application of regulations applying to other media (mainly the Spanish 1966 Press Act) and are liable for the content published through them only within the strict limits of the “safe harbor” provisions of the above-mentioned directive and, now, of the DSA. The aforementioned principle, though by and large still standing, has incrementally been eroded on several fronts, such as privacy, copyright and the Audiovisual Law.

34/2002 Spanish e-Commerce and Information Society Services Act (Information Services Act)

The Information Services Act generally establishes the transparency obligations of all information society services (generally, every page on the internet), provides for safe-harbor exceptions to liability in favor of intermediary services, and regulates cookies and spam and the requirements for electronic contracts to be effective. This is likely to be superseded if and when the DSA is passed by the EU.

Spanish 1/1996 Copyright Act (Copyright Act)

The Copyright Act regulates exploitation of copyrighted subject matter, including specifically its exploitation by social networks, which are now beyond certain thresholds, subject to payment of compensation to copyright-collecting societies.

Spanish 3/1991 Spanish Unfair Competition Act and the Spanish 34/1988 General Advertising Act (Competition and Advertising Acts)

The Competition and Advertising Acts regulate advertising and commercial communications and prohibit certain practices, such as misleading advertising or derogatory statements. A significant deal of conflict has arisen in relation to such prohibitions in the context of social networks (such as the use of false references and personal opinions on social networks compiling opinions on hotels and restaurants), with a particular focus in the past few years on the activity of influencers (now subject to the Spanish General Audiovisual Act and to a special Code of Conduct administered by Autocontrol, the independent advertising self-regulatory organization in Spain).

Spanish 1/1982 Organic Act on Civil Protection of Honor, Image and Privacy (Organic Act)

The Organic Act regulates civil actions for infringement of image rights (similar to publicity rights), honor (defamation) and privacy (in its stricter sense, as protected by Section 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights). This may be one of the most litigated areas around social networks, the use of which has given rise to a significant amount of defamation (particularly on X).

1/2007 Spanish Consumer Protection Act (Consumer Act)

The Consumer Act regulates the contracts between social network operators, in particular it regulates the basis and users and mandates that contracts include certain information, and forbids certain clauses being included within contracts which are deemed abusive.

Spanish Criminal Code

The Criminal Code regulates criminal offenses and, especially regarding social networks, serious privacy breaches (with a particular focus on unauthorized sharing of private sexual communications, images or recordings), criminal defamation and cybercrime in general (including cyberbullying).