Spanish PM calls to end social media anonymity, force digital ID

Digital ID has always been about ending online anonymity while giving governments & corporations the power to manipulate, coerce, or incentivize human behavior: perspective

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calls for the end of anonymity across all social media platforms by forcing them to link all user accounts with the European digital identity wallet.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos today, Prime Minister Sanchez went on a 17-minute tirade against social media and big tech companies for being dangerous to democracies while presenting three solutions:

• Force social media platforms to link user accounts with the EU digital identity wallet and end anonymity
• Force social media platforms to open the black box on their algorithms
• Hold social media CEOs personally accountable for non-compliance for laws and norms in their platforms

In his special address, the Spanish PM blamed social media companies for “transforming us into a society increasingly divided and easy to manipulate,” while claiming his three proposals would present a solution.

“I propose putting an end to anonymity on social media,” said the Spanish PM.

“In our countries, no one can walk the streets with a mask on their face or drive a car without a license plate. No one can send packages without showing an ID or buy a hunting weapon without giving their name, and yet we are allowing people to roam freely on social networks without linking their profiles to a real identity.

“This is paving the way for misinformation, hate speech, and cyber harassment because it is facilitating the use of bots, and it is allowing people to act without being held accountable for their actions.

“Such an anomaly can’t continue. In a democracy, citizens have the right to privacy — not to anonymity or impunity — because with those two social coexistence would be impossible.

“That is why I believe we must push forward the principle of pseudonymity as the functioning element of social media and force all these platforms to link every user account to a European digital identity wallet,” Sanchez added.

Beyond calling for the end of anonymity on social media and forcing platforms to adopt the EU digital identity wallet, the Spanish PM called for social media companies to open the black box on their algorithms.

“My second proposal is to force open the black box of social media algorithms once and for all,” he said.

“Safeguards like content moderation and fact checking are both legal and moral requirements that must be followed by all,” Sanchez added.

Sanchez’s final proposal was to hold social media CEOs personally accountable for non-compliance on laws and norms in their platforms.

The Spanish prime minister’s remarks back-up what we at The Sociable and many other researchers and outlets have warned for years — that digital ID schemes were about ending online anonymity while giving governments and corporations the power to manipulate, coerce, or incentivize changes in human behavior.

Image: Screenshot of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez “Special Address” at WEF Annual Meeting 2025