Spain is planning to ban teenagers under 16 from using social media platforms. After Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez announced the related measures, tech tycoons Elon Musk and Telegram founder Pavel Durov criticized him. On the 5th, the Prime Minister quoted a famous Spanish saying, "The barking of dogs proves we are moving forward," but replaced "dogs" with "tech oligarchs," implying their criticism is like the barking of dogs.
According to Spanish national broadcaster RTVE, cited by Central News Agency, tech tycoon and X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk previously posted on X, criticizing Prime Minister Sánchez for recently announcing a plan to ban Spanish teenagers and children under 16 from using social media.
In his post, Musk angrily lashed out at Sánchez as "vile," labeling him a "tyrant," "traitor to the Spanish people," and a "fascist authoritarian."
Telegram founder Pavel Durov also joined the fray on the 4th, posting on Telegram that Sánchez’s proposed regulatory policy would threaten online freedom.
Durov warned that this decision by the Spanish government could use protection as an excuse to move toward surveillance and censorship, turning Spain into a "surveillance state."
Sánchez was not to be outdone, posting a rebuttal on X on the 4th. He quoted a famous saying from Don Quixote (note: actual source is debated), where Don Quixote says to his servant Sancho: “Let the dogs bark, Sancho, for it means we are moving forward.” He replaced "dogs" (los perros) with “tech oligarchs” (tecno-oligarcas), and emphasized it in italics.
He wrote, “Let the tech oligarchs bark, Sancho, for it means we are moving forward,” thus mocking the two tech moguls’ criticism as nothing more than barking dogs.
This Spanish saying is commonly used to mean that when someone is doing the right thing, they needn’t pay attention to criticism or ridicule—those noises are proof of being on the right path.