Canada introduced a legislation on Wednesday, potentially banning children under the age of 16 from having social media accounts unless the companies prove they can make their platforms safe. Canada could be joining countries like Australia, Brazil, and Indonesia, who have announced similar age-based restrictions for children’s acces to social media as part of a broader global effort to tighten safety protections.
Canadian government officials said social media platforms can obtain an exemption if they have placed adequate safeguards. Criteria for what the exemptions would look like will be announced later. Platforms will also be required to establish age verification. However, platforms that provide adult content would not be eligible for an exemption.
“We are failing our children. Enough is enough,” said Marc Miller, Canada’s Culture Minister “We need basic protection in place.”
The legislation covers seven types of harmful content such as content that tempts children to harm themselves, content that encourages violence and hatred, and non-consensual intimate images.
The government will also create a new regulator called the Digital Safety Commission of Canada. Miller said it could take up to 18 months to set up the regulator.
The legislation also aims to regulate the companies behind artificial intelligence chatbots by imposing a duty to act responsibly through measures such as crisis intervention protocols.
Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection Lianna McDonald welcomed the move, highlighting the rising sextortion on social media.
Since Australia enforced its social media ban, many platforms have revoked access to roughly 4.7 million accounts which were found to have belonged to children under 16. The law triggered debates in the country about technology use, privacy, child safety, and mental health.
Countries including Britain, France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand, and South Korea are also currently studying or developing similar approaches to ensure online safety of its children.
