New Brunswick — The federal government has passed a new bill, partly aimed a protecting youth and seniors from online harms. The bill, called the Digital Safety Act and the Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act, will include a social media ban, following the lead of countries like Australia, where social media bans already apply to kids 16 and under.
Canada will go a step further than the Aussies, also banning citizens 65 and older from using all social media apps and websites.
“It’s all about protecting kids,” said Prime Minister Mark Carney. “The threats are real and tangible, and children don’t have the maturity to weed out the bad from the good. And we also need to protect seniors so they don’t give their retirement funds to a scammer or keep sharing those posts that say ‘I don’t give Facebook permission to use my information,’ et cetera.”
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt is backing the ban, and said she’s looking forward to locking down the most problematic social media platforms.
“We need to keep kids safe from harms from predators, chatbots, cyberbullying — but we also need to keep seniors away from obvious scams and AI-generated content. They’re just not ready for what they can find online.”
Monctonian Katie Burtt, 19, agrees.
“My Grammy keeps sending me AI pictures and I have to explain that they’re not real, and it starts a lot of fights,” said Burtt. “I honestly don’t think she should have social media anymore, so this is a good thing. …Please don’t tell her I said that.”
Seventy-year-old Saint John resident Henry Wallace opposes the restrictions, saying he needs social media to communicate with his girlfriend, a 21-year-old Instagram model from Albania.
“Rovena talks to me on Facebook and Instagram, depending on the day,” said Wallace. “Sometimes she posts a flirty video and it says, ‘Good morning, my love’ — that’s me — and I comment on it telling her she’s beautiful. A lot of other men say similar things on her posts, but I know she only has eyes for me. Why else would she accept all my wire transfers?”
The new rules are expected to come into play within 18 months.