Canada announces bill banning social media for anyone under 16
Key takeaways
- The regulation also imposes new safety expectations on 'AI chatbot services.'
- Nils Petter Nilsson/Getty Images Canada is joining Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia, in banning teenagers from using social media.
- Under the legislation, social media services are required to design their products to be safer for children.
The regulation also imposes new safety expectations on 'AI chatbot services.'
Nils Petter Nilsson/Getty Images 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.