Canada Considers Social Media Ban for Under-16s

OTTAWA The Canadian federal government is seriously considering a ban on social media access for children under 16, Culture Minister Marc Miller announced Wednesday, following a non-binding resolution passed by Liberal Party members at their national convention in Montreal over the weekend.

The resolution, adopted by delegates on Saturday, calls for setting 16 as the minimum age for creating social media accounts and requires platforms to implement measures to prevent underage sign-ups. A separate resolution urges similar age restrictions for artificial intelligence chatbots, citing potential harms to young users from digital interactions. Party members debated the proposals before voting in favor, though the measures do not automatically translate into policy or law.

Miller, who leads efforts on online safety legislation, described the ban as a potential "important element" in protecting minors but emphasized it cannot address all online harms. "It's clear that a ban or a moratorium on social media by kids, who we do need to protect, can be an important element, but it can't be the only one," he told reporters on Parliament Hill. The government plans to introduce a new online...