"It is an everything-all-at-once approach in which nearly every key component...is left to regulations that do not yet exist."
"a social media ban for those <16 is bad policy that will take considerable time to implement & raises serious privacy concerns that will affect tens of millions of Cdns"
Mike Ananny
. @mikeananny.bsky.social is take on Canada's < 16 social media ban is spot on, especially his last points about compliance, tougher & better options for platform regulation, weak evidence, and lack of consideration of children's rights and how they use the internet, devices & social media.
Sigh, they're actually doing a social media ban for <16 years.
Yes, platforms with "adequate safeguards" will be exempt but such safeguards "will be based on criteria to be determined later," by a nonexistent commission.
It's not a pause or temporary moratorium; it's a ban with everyone monitored.
Mediamorphis
Mike Ananny
Good overview for anyone following expected proposed ban on social media for Canadians under 16.
“Rejecting a ban does not mean rejecting regulation. Rather, it places the emphasis on the need to regulate the platforms, not the user.”
The ban frames the wrong problem, creating a harmful solution.
Mike Ananny
Why is a kids’ social media ban bad policy? Does the ban actually work? Doesn’t polling show overwhelming public support for a ban? Why is mandated age verification a privacy risk? If the ban is “temporary,” why does it matter? If not a ban, then what?
The government is expected to table the Digital Safety Act on Wednesday with reports that it will include a ban on social media for those under 16, framed as a “temporary” measure that platforms can…
Here’s my initial post on Digital Safety bill: government is taking a kitchen sink approach by throwing everything into Bill C-34 and leaving many key details to future regulations, many to be decided by a Commission that doesn’t exist yet. This will take years.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/06/ever...
The government tabled Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, earlier today, marking its third attempt at online harms legislation after the failed 2021 consultation and Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act ...
