Federal Government is ‘very seriously’ considering youth social media ban

Posted by ReyFort Media

The federal government is “very seriously” considering introducing a social mediaban for kids, Culture Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday, days after party members voted in favourof a such a ban at the Liberal party convention.

“I respect and acknowledge the work that’s been done and the concern where that policy proposal came from,” Miller told reporters on Parliament Hill.

“The grassroots have spoken. We do have to study that.”

In Montreal on Saturday, party members passed a non-binding resolution calling on the government to set 16 as the minimum age for access to social media accounts.

A ban could be an important tool but it’s not a solutionto the bigger problem of online harms, Miller said.

“I do think it could be an important layer, but it has to be seen as that and not as the answer to everything. Online harms don’t end as soon as you turn 15 or 16 or 17,” he said.

The government’s move to consider age restrictions for social media and chatbots received support from Conservative and NDP MPs Wednesday.

Conservative MP Michael Barrett said it’s an important question and a committee study “where we could hear from experts, instead of simply a proclamation from government or from people in the industry about what they think it should look like, is the best way to proceed with it.”

NDP parliamentary leader Don Davies said every parent in the country is worried about their kids accessing inappropriate content online, and there is a need for government regulation in this space.

While he said he didn’t want to comment specifically on age restrictions, Davies added, “I know some other countries are moving in that direction, so I think it’s something Canada should look at.”

The government is leaving it to the expert group to weigh in on whether the legislation should also cover access to AI chatbots, Miller said.

“The more these things become prevalent and people have access to them and they are in fact causing harm, then you feel the people that are supporting these platforms or the owners of these chatbots have a responsibility,” he said.

On Saturday, the Liberals also adopted a similar non-binding resolution to set age restrictions for AI chatbots. (Youtube)