Canada Moves to Restrict Social Media for Under-16s... AI Chatbots Also to Be Regulated

The Canadian government has initiated regulations on social media and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to strengthen online safety for minors.

According to Bloomberg News, on June 10 (local time), the Canadian government unveiled a bill that would restrict users under the age of 16 from accessing services provided by social media companies such as Meta and X (formerly Twitter) if they fail to meet certain safety standards. This bill will also apply to AI chatbots.

However, AI chatbots are not included in the category of services prohibited for youth. Instead, companies providing these services must take measures to reduce the risk of delivering harmful content and must publicly disclose the standards by which they respond to reports in crisis situations.

In Canada, concerns regarding youth use of AI chatbots have grown since a mass shooting occurred in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, in February. It was revealed that the 18-year-old suspect had discussed gun violence on OpenAI’s ChatGPT several months before the incident. Canadian Minister of Canadian Heritage, Marc Miller, explained that, due to a lack of sufficient data on potential harm that AI chatbots could pose to children, the government decided not to impose age restrictions at this time.

The bill also includes the establishment of a new digital regulatory agency. This new regulator will enforce relevant rules on platforms and set out the requirements that social media companies must meet to be granted exceptions from the under-16 user restrictions. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 3% of their global revenue or 10 million Canadian dollars, whichever is greater.

Minister Miller stated, "This law will require social media platforms and AI chatbot services to take additional measures to protect children and ensure that platforms are designed to be safe from the outset," adding, "The provisions in this bill represent the basic level of protection that parents and Canadians expect for their children's online safety."

Efforts to restrict children's use of social media are ongoing around the world. Australia has already implemented a law banning social media use by children under 16. In many European countries, including France, Denmark, Greece, Poland, and Austria, plans are being pursued to restrict social media access for children under the ages of 14 to 16.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.