There are vigilante-style groups in Spain (and Europe more broadly) who target suspected paedophilia, but they operate in a highly controversial and legally problematic space. Here’s a breakdown of what we know:
✅ What these groups do
- Some groups impersonate minors online (or use decoy accounts) to lure adults suspected of grooming children. For example, an article on European digital vigilantism describes how volunteers posed as a “12-year-old girl” to catch adults engaging sexually online. euronews+1
- They may confront suspects, record them (sometimes publicly), and hand evidence to police or publish videos online. Notes de seguretat+1
- They may act out of frustration with perceived slow or inadequate official responses to child sexual exploitation or grooming. euronews+1
⚠️ What the risks and problems are
- Legality: These groups often operate outside formal law enforcement, which raises issues about evidence admissibility, entrapment, and due process. Notes de seguretat+1
- Mistaken identity & harm: There have been documented cases where innocent people are wrongly accused or harassed. The blog on digital vigilantism warns of such consequences. Notes de seguretat
- Interference with official investigations: Some of these vigilante actions can jeopardise formal police work or destroy evidence. Notes de seguretat
- Ethical concerns: Publishing videos of suspects, shaming individuals publicly, and acting without oversight raises serious ethical issues around rights, privacy, presumption of innocence.
📍 Specific situation in Spain
- An article in Spanish (“La caza de pedófilos por internet”) mentions volunteer vigilantes in Spain/Europe tracking suspected paedophiles online. euronews
- The article on digital vigilantism from the Catalan security blog explicitly refers to “grupos que se denominan ‘cazadores de pedófilos’” in Spain and warns about the risks. Notes de seguretat
- However, there is no strong evidence of large, formalised vigilante organisations in Spain operating at nationwide scale solely for catching paedophiles with official sanction. Many actions appear informal or ad-hoc.
