Defamation and Online Harassment Laws in Spain

Spain is a civil law country, and its protection of reputation starts with Article 18.1 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to honor, to personal and family privacy and to one's own image. Organic Law 1/1982 protects these rights in the civil courts, and its Article 7.7 treats as an unlawful intrusion any statement of fact or value judgment that harms another person's dignity, reputation or self-esteem. The Criminal Code separately defines two offenses against honor: calumnia (Article 205) and injuria (Article 208).

Sources1Spanish Constitution, Article 18.12Organic Law 1/1982 on the civil protection of the right to honor, personal and family privacy and one's own image, Articles 1 and 7.73Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), Articles 205 and 208

Calumnia, meaning accusing someone of a crime while knowing it is false or with reckless disregard for the truth, carries six months to two years in prison or a fine when spread publicly, and a fine otherwise (Articles 205 and 206). As a general rule, only injuria that is considered serious is a crime, and it is punished with a fine that is higher when made publicly, for example through the press, broadcasting or a similar medium (Articles 208, 209 and 211). These cases normally require a formal complaint (querella) by the offended person, except when the target is a public official and the statements concern their official duties, and the offended person's pardon ends the criminal action (Article 215).

Source3Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), Articles 205, 206, 208, 209, 211 and 215

Spanish law does not separate written and spoken defamation. A civil action under Organic Law 1/1982 expires four years after the affected person was able to bring it (Article 9.5). The criminal offenses of calumnia and injuria have a much shorter limit: under Article 131.1 of the Criminal Code they prescribe after one year.

Sources2Organic Law 1/1982, Article 9.53Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), Article 131.1

Spain does not use the common law idea of defamation per se, but Article 9.3 of Organic Law 1/1982 presumes that harm exists whenever an unlawful intrusion on honor is proven. Compensation covers moral damage, which the court assesses based on the circumstances, how serious the harm was and how widely the statement was spread.

Source2Organic Law 1/1982, Article 9.3

Under Organic Law 2/1984, any person or company that a media outlet mentions in information they consider inaccurate and harmful can send a correction, limited to the facts, to the outlet's editor within seven calendar days of publication. The outlet must publish it in full and free of charge, with similar prominence, within three days of receiving it (or in the next issue if the publication does not appear that often). If the outlet refuses or does not comply, the person can go to court within seven working days. In criminal cases, a defendant who admits before the court that the accusations were false and retracts them receives a lower penalty, and the court can order the retraction published in the same medium if the offended person asks (Criminal Code, Article 214).

Sources4Organic Law 2/1984 regulating the right of rectification, Articles 1 to 43Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), Article 214

The Constitution protects the freedom to express opinions and to share truthful information (Article 20.1), but these freedoms are expressly limited by respect for the rights to honor, privacy and one's own image (Article 20.4). In criminal cases, a person accused of calumnia is not punished if they prove the crime they alleged was actually committed (Article 207), and truth is a defense to injuria only when the statements target public officials and concern their official duties, or concern administrative violations (Article 210). Statements of fact count as serious injuria only if made knowing they were false or with reckless disregard for the truth (Article 208).

Sources1Spanish Constitution, Article 20.1 and 20.43Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), Articles 207, 208 and 210

Article 172 ter of the Criminal Code makes stalking a crime when someone insistently and repeatedly, without legal authority, watches or follows a person, contacts or tries to contact them by any means of communication or through others, or misuses their personal data, and this disrupts the victim's daily life. The penalty is three months to two years in prison or a fine, with higher penalties for vulnerable victims and partners or family members. Except in those family cases, it can only be prosecuted if the victim or their legal representative reports it.

Source3Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), Article 172 ter.1, 172 ter.2 and 172 ter.4

Since 2022, Article 172 ter.5 of the Criminal Code punishes using another person's image without consent to create ads or fake profiles on social networks, contact sites or any public medium when this causes them harassment or humiliation, with three months to one year in prison or a fine. Repeated unwanted contact by any means of communication is also covered by the general stalking offense in Article 172 ter.1.

Source3Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), Article 172 ter.1 and 172 ter.5

The Criminal Code has no offense named doxxing, but Article 197.2 punishes, among other conduct, accessing, using or altering someone's private personal or family data held in files or records without authorization and to the detriment of that person or others, and Article 197.3 raises the penalty to two to five years in prison when that data is spread or revealed to others. Stalking that involves misusing a person's personal data so that others contact them is covered by Article 172 ter.1. In civil law, revealing private facts that harm a person's reputation is an unlawful intrusion under Article 7.3 of Organic Law 1/1982.

Sources3Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), Articles 172 ter.1 and 197.2 to 197.32Organic Law 1/1982, Article 7.3

Article 197.7 of the Criminal Code punishes sharing images or recordings of a person, obtained with their consent in a private setting, without their authorization when this seriously harms their privacy, with three months to one year in prison or a fine. Anyone who receives such images and passes them on without consent can also be fined, and penalties are higher when the offender is a current or former partner, the victim is a minor or a person with a disability, or the sharing was for profit.

Source3Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), Article 197.7