Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attends Pedro Sanchez address at World Governments Summit 2026
- SAUDI ARABIA BREAKING NEWS
- 20 minutes ago
- 2 min read
DUBAI, February 4, 2026 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) – Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attended the main address delivered by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on the opening day of the World Governments Summit 2026, which runs for three days under the theme “Shaping Future Governments,” according to summit organisers.
In his remarks, Sanchez outlined five measures Spain plans to implement to curb harms linked to social media and protect minors, including tightening technology laws to hold platform executives legally accountable for infringements such as failures to remove illegal or hateful content.
He said Spain would make algorithmic manipulation and the amplification of illegal content a criminal offence and introduce a “hate and polarisation footprint” system designed to track and quantify how platforms fuel division, providing a basis for future penalties.
Another measure would ban access to social media for minors under 16 and require platforms to implement age-verification systems, he said, adding the government would work with public prosecutors to investigate and pursue infringements committed by certain digital platforms.
Sanchez also called for collective action on digital governance, saying it was a challenge no country could face alone.
The session was attended by Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi and Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, alongside ministers and senior officials, the organisers said.
During the address, Sanchez highlighted Spain’s economic performance, saying the economy grew 2.8% in 2025, with gross domestic product exceeding $2 trillion and nearly 600,000 jobs created last year.
The summit brings together more than 60 heads of state and government and their deputies, more than 500 ministers, and representatives of more than 150 governments, alongside more than 80 international and regional organisations and over 700 chief executives, the organisers said.
