QUEBEC CITY — Canadian Culture Minister Marc Miller isn’t ruling out a ban on social media for kids under 14 as he drafts legislation intended to address the harmful effects of online activity.
Miller said in an interview Friday that he’s looking at approaches taken by other jurisdictions including Australia, which recently became the first nation in the world to ban kids from social media.
“I am looking at a number of things to limit and even prevent online harms to some of the most vulnerable portions of our population, particularly kids,” Miller told POLITICO.
He wouldn’t provide details of the measures under consideration but said any ban on social media “would have to be paired” with regulations on online content, particularly material targeted at children.
Parliament has spent years examining online harms, with MPs and senators holding multiple hearings on how social media affects children. The Liberal government has introduced two iterations of online harms legislation since 2021, but both bills failed to pass Parliament.
Tech companies have urged the Liberal government to pursue alternatives to an outright ban.
Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, says Google and Apple should verify ages and require parental consent for kids who want to download social media apps.
Rachel Curran, director of public policy at Meta Canada, previously told POLITICO that an outright ban of social media “doesn’t make sense.”
“The same problems exist [in Australia] that exist everywhere else: Our ability to verify age accurately has got some big gaps in it,” Curran said. “Enforcement is going to be an issue.”