Canada plans to ban social networking sites for children under 16 and introduce tougher rules on artificial intelligence to protect youngsters from harmful content.
Canada is preparing to ban social networks for children under 16 and limit the production of harmful content in artificial intelligence chatbots. The proposed law on digital security was presented by Culture Minister Marc Miller on Wednesday. TASR writes about it according to AFP.
“We have seen the very serious consequences that harm can have in the online space. The safety of children cannot be secondary,” said the minister.
Prohibition for children under 16 years of age
The new legislation is therefore intended to ban accounts on social networks for children under 16 years of age. In addition to social networks, stricter conditions should also apply to platforms with adult content. The goal of the law is to “mitigate the risks associated with exposure” to various categories of harmful content and to flag artificially generated content.
After the law is approved, its terms would be enforced by the Commission for Digital Security. Companies that fail to comply can face fines of up to ten million Canadian dollars, or up to three percent of their global revenue.
Fines for companies
“This legislation will provide a safer environment for young Canadians to make personal connections, build friendships, focus in school and learn the real-world skills they need to thrive,” Health Minister Marjorie Michel said in a statement.
“Of course kids will find a way” to get around the bans, said Sachin Maharaj of the University of Ottawa. “But the real challenge is changing the way apps work,” he added. According to him, the proposal is “a recognition that social media is linked to behavioral problems and the functioning of society”.
Inspiration from abroad
In December last year, Australia became the first country to require social networks such as TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and others to remove the accounts of under-16s under the threat of heavy fines. Indonesia is also demanding its own ban on social media for children under 16 from March, and several European governments have also announced their intention to take similar steps.
