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Spain Plans New Digital Tool to Measure ‘Footprint of Hate’ Online

By  |  March 11, 2026

Spain will introduce a new monitoring system designed to track hate speech across digital platforms as part of a broader effort to tighten oversight of social media companies, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

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    The initiative centers on a tool known as HODIO, a Spanish acronym that stands for “Footprint of Hatred and Polarization.” The system will allow authorities to systematically assess the scale, spread and influence of hateful content circulating online, per Reuters.

    The announcement follows a wider regulatory plan unveiled by the Spanish government last month aimed at strengthening control over social media platforms. According to Reuters, the proposals include restricting social media use for younger teenagers and introducing measures that could hold platform executives accountable for illegal or hateful content hosted on their services.

    Sánchez said the rise of online hate speech was contributing to growing divisions within Spanish society, highlighting the need for better ways to measure and understand its impact, according to Reuters. He compared the concept behind the new tool to the way societies discuss environmental harm.

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    “We want to start talking about the impact of hate. When something is measured, it ceases to be invisible,” Sánchez said.

    The HODIO system will track how hateful content appears online, how it spreads and how it influences public discourse, per Reuters. The government also intends to publish the results so the public can evaluate how different platforms respond to such content.

    According to Reuters, Sánchez said making the findings public would allow citizens to see “who is blocking this content, who is looking the other way, and who is profiting from it.” The move is part of Spain’s broader push to increase transparency and accountability in the digital sphere as governments across Europe grapple with regulating major technology platforms.

    Source: Reuters.