Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced the launch of a new government tool designed to monitor and quantify so-called hate speech on digital platforms.
The move marks a significant escalation in Spain’s efforts to regulate, or what some would call censor, online content.
The initiative, revealed during a press conference in Madrid today, comes as part of a comprehensive strategy to address what Sánchez described as the “deep divisions” caused by online hate in Spanish society.
The tool, named HODIO – an acronym for “Huella del Odio y la Polarización” (Footprint of Hatred and Polarisation) – will systematically track the presence, spread, amplification and real-world impact of so-called hate speech across social media and other digital platforms used in Spain.
Sánchez likened the system to environmental monitoring, stating, “We want to start talking about the impact of hate. When something is measured, it ceases to be invisible.”
Ponemos en marcha la herramienta HODIO, Huella del Odio y la Polarización, que permitirá medir la presencia, evolución y alcance del discurso de odio en plataformas digitales.
Para sacar el odio de la sombra, visibilizarlo y exigir responsabilidades a quienes no actúan. pic.twitter.com/kdXSGWN6Yp
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) March 11, 2026
He emphasised that HODIO’s findings will be made public, allowing citizens to scrutinise how platforms respond to harmful content: “Who is blocking this content, who is looking the other way and who is profiting from it,” he said.
“Just as today we talk about the carbon footprint to measure the environmental impact of an activity, we also want to start talking about the footprint of hatred to prevent the social and democratic impact that these discourses are generating on coexistence,” Sánchez continued.
“The objective is clear: to bring hatred out of the shadows, make it visible and hold accountable those who do not act. Let’s make shame change sides here too”, he quoted the French abuse survivor Gisèle Pelicot, he concluded.
The announcement follows a broader government plan unveiled in February to tighten social media regulations, including a proposed ban on access for minors under 16 and measures to hold platform executives personally accountable for hosting illegal or hateful material.
The new tool will be operated through Spain’s Observatory against Racism and Xenophobia, a governmental entity, integrating quantitative data analysis with expert reviews to ensure accuracy, although many cases in the US and Europe have proven that such experts often have their own biases.
While technical specifics on HODIO’s algorithms or data sources remain undisclosed, it is expected to build on existing methodologies, potentially incorporating artificial intelligence for real-time tracking similar to prior Spanish initiatives.
The move has sparked immediate reaction on social media, with critics labelling it a form of censorship.
Posts on X described HODIO as a “Big Brother” tool and accused Sánchez’s left-leaning government of suppressing dissent.
The progressive government often accuses its conservative opposition of being “fascist”, “encouraging racist terrorism” and “hate speech” in relation to anti-immigration incidents, as well as “misogyny” and “hate”.
The US House Judiciary Committee Republicans have ramped up their blistering assault on the European Union’s Digital Services Act, exposing what they call a “secret censorship order”. https://t.co/iplYRhv6EI
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 29, 2026
