What you need to know about Canada’s proposed under-16 social media ban

The Canadian government has introduced legislation that would place a mandatory ban on social media use for children under 16. So here’s what you need to know. "We need basic protection in place so every child in this country can be safe on platforms they use every day," said Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller. It’s called the Safe Social Media Act. And with it comes the Digital Safety Commission of Canada, which would act as a regulator to ensure compliance. The feds say the bill covers seven types of content — content inducing a child to harm themselves, that incites violence, instigates hatred, and non-consensual intimate content. After being posted, social media platforms will have 24 hours to remove content that sexually victimizes a child or re-victimizes a survivor. Now, Australia began enforcing its own social media ban last December. But tech analyst Carmi Levy says the data shows kids have found workarounds. "And it clearly has not worked. You know, with an estimated 70 per cent of Australian teens continuing to use the very platforms that are supposed to be included in this ban," Levy said. But Greg Attwells, one of the forces behind the ban in Australia, says it's still showing positive results. "So 30 per cent of 13 to 15 year olds are spending more time on sports. Twenty-seven per cent report better sleep. Online bullying is down nine per cent and exposure to inappropriate and violent content has dropped 18 per cent," Attwells said. So can Canada do things differently? Can our ban be more effective? Levy doesn’t think so. "And so for the government in Canada now, to essentially do the same thing, it shows that we're being overly optimistic. And I don't think Ottawa expects this to actually work," Levy said. Still, Levy says it's a step in the right direction to protect kids. Now, you might be thinking – these are private companies. What power do the feds have here? Miller says the bill will require companies to take appropriate measures to ensure kids under 16 can’t open social media accounts when the law comes into effect. "The act will require social media platforms and AI chatbot services to do more to protect children and make their platforms safe by design," Miller said. Key phrases here are “require” and “safe by design.” The Canadian government says it will enforce this act by, quote, “auditing for compliance, issuing compliance orders and penalizing services that fail to comply.” So yes, the Canadian government intends to fine companies that don’t play ball. But Attwells says Australia's issues persist partly due to tech giants simply willing to pay those fines. "Some suspect that the platforms are prepared to pay the fines as long as the policy can be portrayed as a failure to other governments, because they don't want this spreading around the world," Attwells said.