Canada may soon become another country to impose sweeping restrictions on children's and teenagers' use of social media. This week, the government introduced the Safe Social Media Act, a new bill that would ban anyone under 16 from opening social media accounts and impose a series of new obligations on digital platforms and AI companies.
If approved, Canada would join countries such as Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia, which have already advanced similar measures aimed at reducing social media's impact on children. The Canadian proposal is part of a broader wave of initiatives worldwide, though it is still too early to assess their real-world effects.
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Canada may soon become another country to impose sweeping restrictions on children's and teenagers' use of social media
(Photo: Getty Images)
New requirements and restrictions, including for AI companies
Under the proposal, companies would be required to design their services to be safer for minors and to quickly remove content that includes AI-generated deepfakes or material depicting child sexual exploitation or harming victims of sexual offenses.
The legislation would also require clear labeling of AI-generated content, make it easier to report harmful and violent material on social platforms and provide users with more effective tools to block problematic accounts.
At the same time, the bill includes what would be Canada’s first legislation specifically addressing AI-powered chatbots. Unlike social media platforms, the government does not intend to restrict access to AI systems based on age. Instead, AI platforms would be required to take steps to prevent chatbots from spreading harmful content, reduce behavior that could cause harm to users and implement emergency mechanisms for crisis situations.
Canadian Minister of Identity and Culture Marc Miller explained that “the harm caused by social media has been studied for many years, while the effects of chatbots are still not as well understood, and they do not serve the same social function. Therefore, we saw no reason at this stage to restrict access to them.”
The Tumbler Ridge School massacre
According to reports, those provisions were added following one of Canada’s deadliest recent mass shootings, which took place in February at a school in the town of Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia. After the attack, it emerged that the shooter had engaged in conversations with ChatGPT months earlier that included violent scenarios and discussions involving weapons.
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney commenting on the issue in a statement following the school massacre in British Columbia
(Photo: Dave Chan / AFP)
The conversations were flagged by the safety systems of OpenAI and reportedly prompted internal discussions among more than a dozen employees about whether law enforcement should be alerted. The company ultimately decided to suspend the account but did not notify police, saying it had not identified an “imminent and credible threat.”
Following the attack, the company faced sharp criticism and was sued by the family of one of the victims, who argued that the tragedy could have been prevented had authorities been warned in time. That is the main reason the new Canadian bill includes explicit obligations for AI platforms for the first time, rather than focusing solely on social media networks.