Ottawa moves to restrict social media for kids under 16
The bill would require social media platforms to block under-16 accounts and set new safety rules for AI chatbots and livestreaming services.
- On Wednesday, the federal government introduced the Safe Social Media Act, Bill C-34, in Ottawa, banning social media access for children under 16 and establishing safety standards for AI chatbots.
- Lianna McDonald, executive director with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, called the digital landscape a "deliberate manufacturing of online spaces that put profit over and above safety," noting families are outmatched by online dangers.
- Culture Minister Marc Miller said social media services must remove sexually victimizing content within 24 hours, citing "tragic consequences" of online harm seen in Tumbler Ridge as motivation for the legislation.
- Lawsuits against OpenAI by families affected by the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting precede this legislation, though officials estimate it could take a year for the Bill to pass and 18 months to establish the digital regulator.
- As Prime Minister Mark Carney approaches the summer recess, nations including Australia, France, Denmark, and Poland are also tightening rules to protect children from online harms through similar age-based restrictions.
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Companies that violate the law could face fines of up to 10 million Canadian dollars.
In the fight against the social media dangers for children and young people, Canada also wants to introduce a minimum age for the use of suitable offers. On Wednesday (local time) the government presented a draft law, which provides for a social media ban for under-16s. Furthermore, offers created with artificial intelligence (AI) are to be more closely controlled. "We have seen the very serious consequences that can arise from online media," ex…
Strict restrictions may be coming: those under 16 could be banned from social media, a bill has already been submitted in Canada
Canada Introduces Bill to Ban Social Media for Kids Under 16
Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date. Canada has introduced a bill that would ban social media for children under the age of 16. Getting into it: The Safe Social Media Act, introduced Wednesday in the House of Commo…
The government would also regulate chatbots powered by artificial intelligence after the country's worst mass murder.
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