Canada to Ban Social Media for Under-16s, Citing Harms

Canada is joining Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia, in banning teenagers from using social media.

The Safe Social Media Act introduced by Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, bans children under the age of 16 from having a social media account and introduces new regulatory expectations for social media services and AI platforms.

Under the legislation, social media services are required to design their products to be safer for children. Platforms will also be expected to remove deepfakes and content that "sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor."

The introduction of things like labels for AI content, clear methods for reporting harmful material and tools for blocking users will also be expected to prevent further exposure to harmful content.

While social media is age-gated by the bill, AI chatbot services won't be.

"Chatbots are not as well-studied as the harm caused by social media platforms," Miller said during the press conference announcing the bill. "They don't have the same social role."

With that said, the Safe Social Media Act also includes language around "AI chatbot services," seemingly in response to OpenAI's handling of the Tumbler Ridge shooting.

As part of the bill, AI platforms are expected to mitigate the risk of chatbots "communicating harmful content" and engaging in harmful behavior, while also introducing "emergency measures" for dealing with crisis situations.

The details of what platforms are expected to provide beyond the 16-year-old age requirement will be set by the Digital Safety Commission of Canada, according to Miller, a newly formed commission created by a separate Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act.

The commission will enforce regulations and also be capable of granting exemptions if they believe a platform maintains "sufficient safeguards" for children.