Pedro Sánchez: 'We cannot sacrifice freedom or mental health on the altar of technological oligarchs'

The President of the Government at the Mobile World Congress 2026 has called for action "in the face of the bad" in the digital sphere.

National Art Museum of Catalonia, Barcelona

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, speaks at the opening dinner of the Mobile World Congress 2026 (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has defended at the welcoming ceremony of the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2026, held at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC), that "we cannot sacrifice freedom, coexistence and mental health on the altar of the technological oligarchs". To this effect, he insisted that we must act "against what is bad" in the digital field with "firmness, with legitimacy, with conviction, and without fear". He called on business, governments, scientists, and civil society to reach an agreement to curb these threats "before it is too late".

This was stated at the event, chaired and closed by HM King Felipe VI, and attended by the Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, the Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López, the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Salvador Illa, and the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni. Pedro Sánchez stressed that 20 years ago "Barcelona took the second great leap forward in its recent history", after hosting the "best" Olympic Games, by hosting the Mobile World Congress for the first time. He also pointed out that this would not have been possible without the trust placed in him by the GSMA, as well as the support of all the institutions involved in this great event.

At the beginning of his speech, the chief executive referred to the situation in the Middle East. He acknowledged that the unilateral US-Israeli attack on Iran, which does not have the support of the international community, brought down "a terrible regime that represses its society, a militaristic regime that is attacking most of its Arab neighbours". He added that all these actions "violate international law, are causing hundreds of innocent victims, and has plunged an entire region into a terror that generates uncertainty and will bring much more instability". He warned that "it is not that the end does not justify the means. It is that the end itself and these means risk leading to an even greater disaster." For this reason, Sánchez reiterated his call for immediate de-escalation, full respect for international law, and the urgency of resuming dialogue "as soon as possible". He ended by stating that "this is where Spain is going to be and where I believe the whole of the EU should be."

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, greets King Felipe VI upon his arrival at the Mobile World Congress opening dinner| Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

On the subject of digital transformation, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and latest-generation telephony, the President of the Government stressed that "all the good outweighs the bad", while choosing to take action to combat the bad. "We cannot sacrifice freedom, coexistence and mental health on the altar of the technological oligarchs. We cannot allow those who design these algorithms to propagate certain information to the detriment of other information, to compromise the future of a sector as essential as technology, and much less can we accept that AI be used to undermine democratic principles, coexistence and the health of our societies, under unacceptable demands and coercion", as has just happened with a large US company.

Digital sovereignty, good use of networks and AI governance

As regards digital sovereignty, he pointed out that work is underway at national level on a new roadmap recently presented to the Council of Ministers, as well as at European level, with the implementation of regulations such as the Digital Services Regulation, the Digital Markets Regulation and the Artificial Intelligence Regulation.

On social networks, he said that "they may be the closest thing to a failed state today, but we cannot let our sons and daughters down", which is why we are going to ban access to them for children under the age of 16. The Government has urged the Attorney General's Office to investigate the crimes that can be committed there, and "their managers will be held criminally responsible" for them.

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, poses next to King Felipe VI, in the group photo of the opening dinner of the Mobile World Congress 2026| Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

Regarding the governance of AI, Pedro Sánchez highlighted that Spain is one of the first European countries with a State Agency for the Oversight of Artificial Intelligence and has two AI supercomputers. In addition, the Government is going to support Spanish companies with €250 million from the Next Generation funds to host one of the new EU gigafactories. It is a technology, he explained, that "is already changing the world". The investment of the sector's five large multinationals in data centres and other physical assets is already equivalent to almost half of Spain's GDP, he said, stressing that "we must ensure that this flow is invested in the common good, in the general interest, with an ethical and humanist vision".

It is up to governments, civil society, the scientific community and business to ensure that this transformation is for the good, he assured the audience. "Close gaps, not widen them; create better jobs instead of destroying them; and generate wealth for all, instead of concentrating it, as is happening, in the hands of a few". The President of the Government asserted that "change is unstoppable", and that the work must be put in to ensure that "it is not improvised, and so that this sector continues to be what it is today: a driving force for development". He concluded with the assurance that "you can count on the Government of Spain to continue along this path."

Non official translation

More Info

• Aid from the Immediate Response, Reconstruction and Relaunching Plan

More news

Tags:

• Government of Spain
• EU
• Digital Transformation