The Canadian government on June 11 submitted to Parliament a new digital safety bill, which proposes banning children under 16 years old from using social networks, and establishing regulations to control the operation of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots.
According to the bill, the ban will apply to children under 16 years old, except for platforms that meet certain safety standards. The government also plans to establish a digital management agency to build and monitor the implementation of safety standards for AI chatbots.
Businesses that violate regulations may face a fine equivalent to 3% of global revenue or up to 10 million CAD, depending on which level is higher.
Canadian Minister of Identity and Culture Marc Miller said that social networking platforms and AI chatbots are designed to attract user attention, but do not support healthy development for children. According to him, these tools have become a source of anxiety, isolation, depression and many other mental health challenges for many Canadian teenagers.
Mr. Miller emphasized that the bill will help create a safer environment for young people, encourage them to strengthen direct communication, build friendships, focus on learning and developing practical skills.
The bill was submitted to Parliament just weeks after families affected by one of the most serious shootings in Canada sued OpenAI. The lawsuit alleges that the company knew the suspect was allegedly planning an attack through ChatGPT but did not warn the police. OpenAI has not responded immediately.
Government officials said it could take about a year for the bill to pass and another 18 months to establish a digital management agency after the law takes effect.
A representative of Google, the company that owns YouTube, affirmed that the company is willing to cooperate with the federal government to build higher safety standards for online platforms. Meanwhile, Meta said it is evaluating the content of the Digital Safety Act. X and Snapchat have not responded to comment requests.
Canada's bill was introduced after Australia became the first country in the world to ban children under 16 years old from using social media. A month after the law in Australia was enacted, platforms have disabled nearly 5 million teenage accounts.
