Ottawa, Canada - Canada's culture minister on Wednesday introduced legislation to ban children under 16-years-old from having social media accounts, and to require AI chatbot services to limit communication of harmful content.
The proposed Digital Safety Act makes Canada the latest in a wave of countries, such as Australia and the UK, which have cracked down on the use of social media platforms by 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 revealed. It added that there will be an exemption "pathway" for companies if they can demonstrate "sufficient safeguards" for children.
Social media services, including adult content platforms, would also face new requirements under the law to "mitigate risks associated with exposure" to various categories of harmful content and apply labels to synthetically generated content.
The eventual regulations would be enforced by a Digital Safety Commission, with possible fines on companies not in compliance of up to 3% of their global revenue or $7.15 million.
"This legislation will provide a safer environment for young Canadians and empower them to connect in-person, build friendships, focus in school, and learn real-world skills so they can thrive," Health Minister Marjorie Michel said in a statement.
Canada also moves to heavily restrict the use of AI to communicating harmful content
Additionally to the social media ban, the new law 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 become 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 and multiple lawsuits 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.
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.