Canada moves to ban under-16s from social media, regulate AI

Canada’s culture minister on Wednesday introduced legislation that would ban children under 16 from having social media accounts and require AI chatbot services to limit production of harmful content.

The proposed “Digital Safety Act” makes Canada the latest in a wave of countries moving to crack down on social media platforms over concerns of harm to children.

“We have seen the very serious consequences that online harms can have…The safety of children cannot be an afterthought,” said Culture Minister Marc Miller in a statement announcing the proposal.

The legislation would ban social media accounts for children under 16 years old, the statement said, adding that there would an exemption “pathway” for companies “if they can demonstrate that they have put in place sufficient safeguards for children.”

In addition to the social media ban, it would also regulate increasingly ubiquitous AI chatbots by requiring companies to “mitigate the risk of the chatbot communicating harmful content.”

Companies would also face requirements for transparency around “reporting thresholds in crisis situations,” such as when a user intends to harm themselves or another person.

The issue has been particularly sensitive in Canada following a mass shooting in April that left nine people dead in the small mining town of Tumbler Ridge, including the shooter.

OpenAI has faced intense criticism after it banned the shooter from its platform in June last year over the user’s troubling conversations on ChatGPT, but did not report the account to Canadian police because it said it saw no evidence of an imminent attack.

In December, Australia became the first country in the world to require TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other top sites to remove accounts held by under-16s or face heavy fines.

Indonesia began enforcing its own social media ban for users under the age of 16 in March, while several European governments have announced their desire to make similar moves.

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