To create a safer environment for young people, the Canadian government officially submitted a new digital safety bill to parliament on June 10 local time. The core provisions of the bill aim to completely ban minors under the age of 16 from using various social media platforms, while also reserving exemptions for platforms that meet specific strict security standards. This move marks an extremely stringent step taken by Canada in protecting the online safety of children and teenagers.
Introducing Heavy Fines
Along with the restrictions, the Canadian government also plans to establish a specialized digital regulatory body and set strict safety standards for AI chatbots to reduce their potential psychological risks to minors. The bill proposes highly deterrent penalties for tech giants that fail to fulfill their protective responsibilities. Companies found in violation could face fines of up to 3% of their global annual revenue or 10 million Canadian dollars, whichever is higher.
Addressing Youth Mental Health Crises
Canadian officials clearly stated that current social media and AI tools are excessively designed to capture user attention, which has become the root cause of many mental health issues among teenagers, including anxiety, isolation, and depression. This legislation draws significantly from the approaches taken by countries such as Australia, aiming to drive a comprehensive "redesign" of the social media ecosystem. Currently, technology giants such as Google and Meta have responded, expressing willingness to cooperate with the government in establishing higher online safety standards.