Liberals back age restrictions for social media and AI chatbots
Liberal party members voted Saturday to support a minimum age of 16 for social media accounts and a ban on anyone under 16 accessing AI chatbots like ChatGPT. The votes came during the party's national convention in Montreal as members considered 24 policy proposals.
One resolution mirrors legislation Australia passed last year, calling for a law that would set 16 as the minimum age to create social media accounts and require platforms to prevent underage users from holding accounts.
The second resolution seeks to ban anyone under 16 from accessing "all AI chatbots and other potentially harmful forms of AI interaction." The resolution cited research showing these technologies have limited peer interaction, pushed some young people into sexual conversations, and recommended suicide to vulnerable youth.
What happens next
Approval at a party convention does not obligate the federal cabinet to introduce legislation. But the votes signal grassroots priorities as Prime Minister Mark Carney's government develops new online harms legislation.
Carney said last month in Tokyo that an age of majority for social media "merits an open and considered debate in Canada." He has not committed to either proposal.
An advocacy group called Unplugged Canada, signed by 4,000 supporters including the Canadian Medical Association and the B.C. Pediatric Society, urged the government to adopt the 16-year minimum in an open letter.
Expert warns ban alone won't work
Taylor Owen, the Beaverbrook Chair in Ethics, Media and Communications at McGill University and a member of the government's expert panel on online safety, supports the debate but opposes a permanent ban.
"It's punishing the kids for something that's our fault," Owen said. "They didn't cause these problems. The problems are designed into the products they're using."
He warned that teens will find other ways to access platforms or move to private chats where they could face greater risks. Owen has pushed for Ottawa to establish an independent regulator that would require risk assessments and public transparency from social media companies.
Owen said AI chatbots must be included in any online harms bill. OpenAI flagged and banned an account belonging to the shooter in the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooting in February - a half year before she killed eight people, mostly children - but did not alert police.
Public backs restrictions
A poll by Angus Reid Institute released last month found 75 per cent of Canadians surveyed support a full ban on social media use for anyone under 16.
Other convention votes
Members also approved resolutions to:
- Eliminate the visitor visa requirement for Ukrainian citizens on short-term stays
- Establish a national rail strategy
- Affirm recognition of Indigenous rights
- Introduce an Artificial Intelligence Act modelled on European Union legislation to regulate AI use in Canada
A resolution calling for Ottawa to restrict provinces' use of the notwithstanding clause - which allows provinces to bypass certain Charter rights - was debated but voted down. Justice Minister Sean Fraser said weeks before the convention that he has "no intention" of invoking federal disallowance of provincial laws, a power unused since 1943.
For government professionals working on digital policy, understanding how ChatGPT and similar tools operate is essential as regulations take shape. The AI Learning Path for Policy Makers provides background on these technologies and their regulatory implications.
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