Verified on 30 October 2026. Platform procedures are subject to change: the date indicated is that of the consultation. If any information has changed, notify me and I shall update it with the date of the change.
An offensive comment, an account posing as you, someone republishing your work as their own or publishing your personal data: these are distinct situations, and they are not all resolved in the same manner. This guide explains how to respond once an incident has occurred. For prevention, consult Publishing your work on social media as a minor. This is information, not legal advice, and in a serious case, it must be reviewed by a solicitor.
If you are under 18
Inform a trusted adult today: your family, a guardian, a teacher. You do not have to resolve this alone.
If the incident involves intimate or sexual images of a minor, do not disseminate or forward them, and immediately approach an adult and the police or the Priority Channel of the Spanish Data Protection Agency. This guide does not detail that case.
Ordinary and serious incidents
- Ordinary moderation. An unpleasant comment or a dispute is resolved using the platform's own tools: blocking, muting, restricting and reporting the publication.
- Abuse. If the behaviour is persistent, there are threats, your data is published or someone is posing as you, it is no longer a matter of moderation.
First, preserve evidence
INCIBE recommends not deleting communications before preserving relevant evidence. This is a practical method for doing so, which is mine and not that of INCIBE:
- Take screenshots showing the content, the username, the date and the page address.
- Save the address (URL) of the profile and each publication.
- Note the date and time you saw it.
- Save the original messages without editing them.
- Do not respond with threats or delete your own publications until you have saved everything.
Impersonation and fake accounts
- TikTok. You may report an account posing as you from the profile or via a form. It may request valid identification.
- YouTube. You may report the channel for impersonation. If your personal data, your image or your imitated voice appear without your consent, you may also request removal on privacy grounds.
- Instagram, X and Bluesky. An impersonation report exists, but I have not located an accessible official page with a version date.
Where someone impersonates another person, Article 401 of the Penal Code covers the usurpation of civil status: "Whoever usurps the civil status of another shall be punished with a prison sentence of six months to three years." Whether a fake account fits that offence or not is decided by a judge, not this guide.
If someone republishes your work
TikTok allows copyright infringement to be reported via the application or a web form. YouTube accepts a formal copyright takedown request and provides the Copyright Match Tool to rights holders who meet their requirements. I have not located the procedure for Instagram, X or Bluesky. Before reporting, gather evidence that the work is yours: your dated original files, your sketches and your initial publication. More on your rights in Comic book publishing contract and in Fanart: what you can do with third-party characters.
Threats, harassment and data publication
The Penal Code punishes various forms of conduct. This list does not classify them legally, nor does it rule out that other offences may also apply; legal classification is a matter for a lawyer or the Public Prosecutor's Office.
- Harassment (article 172 ter). Harassing a person in an insistent and repeated manner, without being legitimately authorised, through surveillance, stalking or seeking physical proximity; contact or attempted contact by any means or through third parties; improper use of their personal data to acquire products, contract services or provoke contact from third parties; or an attack on their freedom or their assets or those of a person close to them, when it alters the normal development of their daily life.
- Threats (articles 169 to 171). Threatening to cause harm constituting specific offences to the person, their family or other closely linked persons, in addition to aggravating factors, threats to groups, blackmail and threats in family or affective relationships.
- Discovery and disclosure of secrets (articles 197 to 197 quinquies). Seizing third-party papers, letters or emails, intercepting communications, and accessing, using, modifying or disclosing reserved personal data without authorisation.
Who to contact
- A trusted adult. Always, if you are a minor.
- Your educational institution, if the incident affects fellow students.
- INCIBE Cybersecurity Helpline. Telephone 017, WhatsApp 900 116 117 or Telegram @INCIBE017, every day from 08:00 to 23:00. It is free and confidential and offers technical, psychosocial and legal guidance. It does not accept complaints.
- ANAR Foundation. 900 20 20 10 and 116 111, free and confidential, 24 hours a day.
- AEPD, Priority Channel. To request the urgent removal of violent or sexual photographs, videos or audio recordings disseminated without permission, when there is a serious risk. This does not replace a criminal complaint.
- National Police (091 or 112) and Civil Guard (062 or 112; information, 900 101 062). They distinguish between guidance, emergency communication and reporting. Online reporting does not accept cases involving a minor victim, violence or acts of a violent or sexual nature; such cases require in-person or immediate attention.
- A lawyer, if there are damages, serious threats or if the case affects your professional activity.
Points requiring clarification
- The official impersonation procedures for Instagram, X and Bluesky, with a dated version.
- The copyright removal procedures for Instagram, X and Bluesky.
- How the cited offences apply to a specific case: this guide does not classify them legally.
Itineraries
I am starting my practice
Before anything happens, separate your artistic account from your personal one, save your originals with a date and know where to seek help.
An open conversation
This guide gathers official regulations and channels. If you work in security, data protection or for a platform and can provide a current procedure, you may write to me.
Sources
- Penal Code (BOE), arts. 169 to 171, 172 ter, 197 to 197 quinquies and 401.
- TikTok, impersonation.
- YouTube, impersonation.
- INCIBE, Cybersecurity Helpline.
- AEPD, Priority Channel.
- ANAR Foundation, telephone and chat.
- National Police, Virtual Reporting Office.
- Guardia Civil, electronic reporting.