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Canadian high schoolers have mixed feelings about the Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34), introduced Wednesday by the federal government.
Key elements of the bill include establishing a new Digital Safety Commission and setting safety criteria and guidelines for social media and AI chatbots, but the element causing the most chatter is a ban on social accounts for kids under 16 (with the potential for exemption for services deemed who’ve put “adequate safeguards” in place).
Teens shared with CBC News their thoughts about a social media ban, while parents expressed guarded optimism moving forward. Here’s what they said this week.
Responses have been edited and condensed.
Jenny Perez, Vancouver parent
“It seems to be a comprehensive bill with a lot of thought put into it prioritizing children…. We were very happy to see the social media age minimum of 16 there because we feel that will help us families and society to change the norm.
[Creating a] regulatory body is critical because there is no legislation that can work without proper enforcement…. We are also even happier to hear that they will implement a social media age minimum even before the [Digital Safety] Commission is in place.
[The government is] willing to open a door for those that can prove that they have the safeguards for children in place. What does that mean exactly? I would say let’s keep that door closed until we are certain that these spaces meet the requirements.”
Chloe Kizito, Kitchener, Ont., high school student
“I strongly disagree with the ban just because I see social media as such a pivotal platform…. I post a lot about advocacy, causes and issues that matter to me. And I also use it as an insight to [connect with] other children who are … very like-minded.
Social media has been really effective in exposing different realities that we don’t always see on the news or that we don’t always hear about.
We’ve already seen kids in Australia, they’re resorting to methods like using VPNs, they’re using their parents’ identification [to bypass age-verification]. And who’s to say that won’t happen in Canada as well?”
The federal government’s proposed Safe Social Media Act could have a major impact on children and their families. CBC’s Trishla Parekh took The National envelope to schools in Toronto to ask kids, parents and teachers what they think about a social media ban.
Xavier Carr, Toronto high school student
“Kids are always going to find their way onto the internet, and it’s only going to cause people to be more sneaky about it…. If you’re going to [limit social media], I think it should be under 16 with restrictions, not entirely banned.”
Khalil Al Kaddah, Halifax high school student
“This ban is really stupid because people can get a lot from social media.
It’s the parents’ job, you know, to teach [kids] between bad and good, and not just like have the government get involved.”
Aany Vital Ramos, Ottawa high school student
“[A ban] is a great first step in the direction that we need to take, but not necessarily the full solution…. Young people will always find a way. You can even access social media without an account. This doesn’t get rid of the underlying risk…. How can we really stay safe on these platforms while still having the positive effects of it?
The bill is finally taking a step in the correct direction because it’s imposing the duty of care, that these tech companies will finally be accountable for what’s happening.
While [a Digital Safety Commission] is a great thing to have, I think youth voices should be also heard, because if you think about it, we’re the consumers of all these platforms.”
Farah Nasser, Toronto parent
“[Kids] need to be part of this conversation…. We can’t get rid of the technology: it’s there, it’s being used, it’s being used at school, it’s everywhere.
A lot of times we talk about AI like this future thing. No, the kids are using it right now. They’re using it as a search engine and … are actually using it as a companion. We know it’s data and code, but for some kids, they’re seeing it as a friend or a different person. So I think [addressing AI chatbots is] really important.
Things are changing so fast: it’s like we’re on this highway … going 100 and now we’re saying ‘OK, let’s retroactively put stop signs and street lights in.’ It’s a very difficult balance, but it’s so necessary.”
Theo De Decker, Halifax high school student
“Kids our age, we use [social media] a lot. We use it to connect with people and to share photos and stuff.… I haven’t seen anything downright horrible on it, just sometimes I wish I spent less time on it because it’s a big time consumer, and I could be doing more productive things.
Enforcing this ban, it’s probably going to come at the cost of some privacy.… How do they know if you’re under 16, right? They might do some things that could violate privacy and some ethical concerns.”
Igbilosa Adun, Toronto high school student
“People are very much exploiting kids under age [on social platforms] and I don’t think it’s good to have that in our own surroundings and … just on the app in general because it’s just disturbing.
When I go into the app and I’m looking at certain videos, I’m like ‘Why do they feel they need to post this? Don’t they know that it’s harmful?’ And sometimes parents are the ones behind it because they … take videos of their kids and then they put it on the app.”
The federal government is expected to table legislation Wednesday that will set new online safety standards.The Globe and Mail has reported the digital safety bill will propose a ban on social media for children under 16. CBC spoke to students outside Glebe Collegiate Institute for their reaction.
Lilliana Marshall, Saskatoon high school student
“There’s a lot of creepy people on the internet, but there’s also like a lot of ways you can make friends on the internet and have access to things that you’ve never gotten access to.
I’m from a small town and like I had a lot of online friends growing up.… [Social media is] good for meeting people, I think. If you’re in a remote place, it’s also good for that, too. It’s good to branch out and find friends, but it’s not always safe.”
Ottawa’s proposed social media ban for kids under 16 has seen a generally warm response so far, but some parents and experts are concerned over a lack of details on how the government would hold social media companies accountable.
