Canada Proposes Law to Ban Social Media for Under-16s

Ottawa. Canada has proposed a new law to ban children and adolescents under 16 years of age from using social media. This proposal is inspired by a similar law implemented by Australia last year. 

However, there is one significant difference. Although a complete ban will be imposed as in Australia's law, under Canada's proposed law, tech companies can get an exemption from the ban if they can prove that they have adopted effective policies and security measures to reduce harm to minor users.

The proposed Safe Social Media Act has made comprehensive arrangements not only for social media but also for regulating artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and controlling online harmful content. A plan to establish a new independent body, the Digital Safety Commission of Canada, to monitor the implementation of the law is also included. 

This bill was presented by Culture Minister Mark Miller in the lower house of the Canadian Parliament on Wednesday. He had previously stated that bringing in laws against online harmful content was the government's priority, saying that children were dying.

The issue of AI safety has become particularly prominent in Canada. In February, it was revealed that the suspect in a school shooting in British Columbia had discussed gun violence with OpenAI's AI chatbot ChatGPT for months before the attack. 

Eight people, including six children, died in the incident. After the incident, OpenAI was accused by the police of not providing information, after which the company's chief Sam Altman apologized in writing to the victim's families.

The new bill lists seven types of 'harmful content'. This includes content that abuses children, spreads hatred, incites or encourages violence. Companies violating the law can be fined up to 10 million Canadian dollars or up to 3 percent of their global total revenue. However, not everyone supports this law. Some free speech advocacy groups have warned that it could increase government censorship.

They argue that such issues can be resolved through existing criminal laws. The UK is also considering a ban on social media for adolescents under 16. An announcement is expected within the next week. In Greece, a ban on social media for children under 15 is set to be implemented from January 2027. Six months ago, Australia became the first country in the world to ban access to social media for adolescents.