Spain cracks down on online hate with new social media tracker

The government's new tool 'HODIO' will monitor hate speech and polarising content across social media

The Spanish government is stepping up its fight against hate speech online with a new tool called HODIO, which stands for 'Footprint of Hate and Polarisation' and plays on the Spanish word for hate, odio. President Pedro Sánchez announced the plan at the Anti-Hate Forum in Madrid, saying it will track hateful and polarising content across social media and hold platform owners accountable.

“Hate doesn’t appear out of nowhere. It is cultivated and promoted,” Sánchez said. “If hate is dangerous, social media has turned it into a weapon of mass polarisation, easy to find, easy to use, and extremely profitable for some.”

HODIO will use both data analysis and expert assessment, publishing results every six months. Just as a carbon footprint shows environmental impact, HODIO intends to reveal the reach of online hate. Citizens will be able to see which platforms host the most hate speech and which are actively trying to reduce it.

The plan is part of a wider package of measures announced in February, including a ban on social media for under-16s and a new offence of ‘algorithmic amplification’ for platforms that spread hateful messages.

The government's data highlights the scale of the problem: three in four young Spanish children encounter hate speech online, and the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE) recorded more than 845,000 pieces of hateful content across Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and X in 2025. Women, migrants, and trans people are among the most targeted groups. Sánchez warned that online hate often spills into real life, with hate crimes in Spain rising 41% over the last decade.

But not everyone is convinced. Critics say tools like HODIO could risk overreach or censorship, as governments and private companies decide what counts as 'hate.' There are also questions about privacy, algorithm transparency, and how effective rankings will be in actually reducing abuse. Tech platforms may resist, arguing that hate speech laws differ between countries and that enforcement can be complex.

Still, Sánchez struck an optimistic note, saying: “We are going to stop hate on our social networks, in our streets, and even in our school playgrounds. We have the tools to do it.” Whether HODIO will deliver results remains to be seen, but Spain is making clear it wants social media platforms to be held accountable for the content they host.

Image: La Moncloa