The Canadian government says it is moving forward with its plan to ban social media for children under the age of 16 despite concerns over freedom of speech, stating that the bill is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The proposed legislation, titled C-34, seeks to ban children under 16 from accessing social media, joining other countries, including Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia, that have implemented similar restrictions.
Ottawa included the analysis in a Charter statement, a document released by the justice minister that assesses whether a bill is consistent with the Charter, amid warnings from experts about potential constitutional challenges.
“As this measure would affect the ability of users to post and consume content, it has the potential to engage freedom of expression protected by section 2(b) of the Charter,” the statement said.
It added, “These include risks relating to privacy, problematic use, and exposure to harmful content, and can result both from the consumption of content on social media, as well as the posting of content.
“For example, information posted by young persons on social media may be effectively impossible to remove from the internet, may spread virally, may feed algorithms that encourage problematic use, and may make the poster a target for grooming and cyberbullying.”
The bill’s backers argue that the proposal aims to protect children from cyberbullying, harmful content and online safety risks.
Meanwhile, the bill, which is still being debated in the Canadian parliament, would exempt platforms with adequate child-safety measures from the ban while allowing children to browse certain platforms without creating an account.
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