It is not something new. Neither hate crimes, nor fake news or hoaxes. And it is not new that there is talk about control over social networks. In fact, the Prosecutor’s Office for Hate Crimes has opened an investigation into the crime. Fake messages and hate attacks spread by users on social networks towards migrant minors after the murder of an 11-year-old boy named Mateo in the town of Mocejón (Toledo).
As has happened in the past, there are speculations about two scenarios, both at extremes: either giving your ID to open a social media account or complete anonymity that absolves you of all blame. But the reality is different: There are already tools to prevent or detect those who commit hate crimes or spread false information on social media.
The first option, preventing them from being published, is the responsibility of the networks themselves, which should filter this type of content. The problem is that the exact criteria governing their rules are unknown and sometimes a part of the body is censored more than a hate crime.
Recently, Miguel Ángel Aguilar, prosecutor of the Hate Crimes Unit, proposed that identification of users be required in order to track down the perpetrators of these crimes. But there are already measures for this: Current laws allow and facilitate the identification of crimes committed on social networks and on the Internet in general. Otherwise, it would be impossible to dismantle the numerous networks of paedophiles and cybercriminals.
While it is true that to open an account on a social network, all you need is an email address and an alias, which guarantees very simple anonymity and the possibility of opening numerous accounts, there is also a tool that makes the task of those who pursue these crimes easier. It is called IP address and is the identifier of the device that published the newscomment, image… And this is the way to reach the person responsible.
Of course, for this you have to ask for help. responsible companies and that is not always easy: Except when it is a crime that clearly gives them a bad reputation (paedophilia, for example), they are reluctant to cooperate with justice or take a long time to do so.
But all this will change (supposedly) in 2026 when the European eIDAS2 protocol comes into forcethe age verification tool for accessing pornographic content that the government is working on. This will facilitate the identification of internet users and would be a possible alternative to presenting an ID card, a kind of digital ID for EU citizens.
The advantage of this system is that social networks will not know who we are, only those responsible for enforcing the laws, but the reality is that the tools already exist for this. Whether they are applied or the information is provided is another matter.. As well as the need for education to take responsibility for what we publish on the Internet.