Teenagers look at mobile phone screens showing social media apps in Sydney, Australia, in December. Following Australia's ban on social media for children under 16, the United Kingdom and Canada are considering similar legislation. [Getty Images]
Teenagers look at mobile phone screens showing social media apps in Sydney, Australia, in December. Following Australia's ban on social media for children under 16, the United Kingdom and Canada are considering similar legislation. [Getty Images]

Following Australia and the United Kingdom, Canada is now moving to ban children under 16 from using social media platforms.

The Canadian government introduced legislation Wednesday to prohibit minors under 16 from creating social media accounts, according to Reuters. The bill includes an exception allowing children under 16 to use social media if a company is deemed to have put adequate safety measures in place for minors.

The bill also covers AI chatbots. Under the proposed rules, AI companies would be required to reduce the risk of their chatbots delivering harmful content and to establish standards for reporting crisis situations — such as when a user appears to intend harm to themselves or others.

Canadian Heritage Minister Marc Miller, briefing reporters on the bill, said he had "witnessed the very serious consequences that harmful online content can cause" and stressed that child safety must not be treated as an afterthought.

His remarks were widely interpreted as a reference to a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, a small town in British Columbia, in February. The suspect in that attack had shared gun-violence scenarios with ChatGPT multiple times before the shooting, but OpenAI did not alert authorities after becoming aware of the exchanges. The suspect ultimately opened fire at his home and at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, killing eight people and injuring 27. Victims' families subsequently filed a lawsuit against OpenAI demanding a court order requiring the company to improve its safety practices.

The Canadian government said the legislation could take a year to pass. Establishing a digital regulatory body to enforce the law could take an additional 18 months.

The push to restrict minors' social media use in the name of child protection has been gaining momentum globally since Australia moved first in December. More than 10 countries — including Greece, the United Kingdom, Austria, France and Denmark — are working to set minimum age requirements for social media use, ranging from 13 to 16. In countries such as Australia where a ban on social media for under-16s is already in force, platforms including Facebook have been required to prevent users below that age from creating accounts.


kate01@heraldcorp.com