The federal government has introduced legislation aimed at strengthening online protections for children, including a proposed ban on social media accounts for users under the age of 16.
The proposed Safe Social Media Act, tabled Wednesday by Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller, would create new legal obligations for social media platforms and artificial intelligence chatbot services to identify and mitigate online harms before they occur.
The legislation comes amid growing concerns about the impact of online content on young Canadians, including cyberbullying, child sexual exploitation, self-harm and mental health challenges.
Under the proposed law, social media companies would be required to prevent children under 16 from creating accounts unless they receive an exemption by demonstrating they have implemented sufficient safeguards to protect young users.
Dr. Madison Moore is a professor of Child & Youth Studies at Trent University and specializes in the digital rights of young people. When asked about her opinion on this move, she told us she disagrees.
Now the bill would also require platforms to prioritize children's safety in the design of products and features, reduce exposure to harmful content and high-risk interactions, and provide users with clear tools to report harmful material and block other users. In addition, social media services would face new obligations to rapidly remove content involving child sexual exploitation, the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and sexually explicit deepfake content.
Artificial intelligence chatbot services would also be subject to new rules requiring them to reduce the risk of generating harmful content, address potentially dangerous interactions and be transparent about procedures for responding to crisis situations involving self-harm or threats of violence.
While there is some level of justified 'doom-and-gloom' around social media as a whole, Dr. Moore says there are plenty of positives that get overlooked.
So what exactly does she recommend if this isn't the correct approach? Dr. Moore says it starts with knowledge.
The legislation must still pass through Parliament before becoming law.
(Written by: Jordan Mercier)