Disinformation is not classified as a crime

The spread of rumors and false news is not classified as a standalone crime in the Spanish Penal Code. This is noted by Javier López, a partner at ECIJA specialized in defending rights in digital and technological environments, in an interview given to EFE Verifica.

Although disinformation is not expressly classified, López points out that its dissemination can have legal sanctions if it fits into crimes already provided for in the legislation, such as hate crimes, discovery and revelation of secrets, crimes against moral integrity, public disorder, insults and slander, crimes against public health, fraud, intrusiveness, or crimes against the market and consumers. It can also have civil consequences when the right to information is violated.

Regarding the rumors that circulated about the incidents in Torre Pacheco, López warns that these can have both civil and criminal consequences, especially when used to incite hatred against a person or group, conduct included in article 510 of the Penal Code.

However, the partner at ECIJA acknowledges that it is difficult to prosecute misinformation campaigns on social media, due to the anonymity of profiles and the demands of Procedural Law, which prevents filing a complaint without individually identifying each responsible person.

Regarding the Digital Services Act (DSA), in force since 2022, López emphasizes that it requires platforms to act with more transparency and speed in removing harmful content. However, practice reveals deficiencies: according to a report from the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia published in July, platforms only removed 22% of posts with hate content related to the events in Torre Pacheco.

“It remains to be seen how far the European Commission will have the firmness to apply these obligations and to what extent national authorities are capable of ensuring proper compliance with established norms,” added in the same line Ramón Salaverría, coordinator of the Iberian Observatory of Digital Media (Iberifier).

The interview highlights the legal complexity surrounding disinformation and the challenges it poses for criminal and civil law, as well as the need for more decisive action by European and national institutions to ensure the effective compliance with the regulations.

Read the full interview here.