Spain and Greece are proposing a ban on social media use by teenagers as attitudes hardened in Europe against the technology, drawing personal insults against the prime minister from Elon Musk.

The government is preparing a series of measures including a social media ban for under-16s, the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said, promising to protect children from the “digital wild west” and hold tech companies responsible for hateful and harmful content.

Sánchez said on Tuesday that urgent action was needed because social media was a “failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated”. He also took Musk to task for using X to “amplify disinformation” over his administration’s decision last week to regularise 500,000 undocumented workers and asylum seekers, pointing out that Musk was himself a migrant.

Musk wrote on X in response: “Dirty Sánchez is a tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain.” About an hour and a half later, he escalated his criticism, posting on X: “Sánchez is the true fascist totalitarian.”

Greece is also close to announcing a similar ban for children under 15, a senior government source said.

Spain and Greece look set to join countries such as Britain and France in considering tougher stances on social media, after Australia in December became the first nation to prohibit access to such platforms for children younger than 16.

Governments and regulators worldwide are looking at the impact of children’s screen time on their development and mental wellbeing.