Liberal party ‘seriously’ considering under-16 social media ban

The federal government is considering a social media ban for anyone under 16 — an idea the Liberal party has been entertaining since 2022.

Conversations surrounding the ban regained momentum following the National Liberal Convention in Montreal last week.

On Wednesday in Ottawa, the Minister of Culture Marc Miller said the government is seriously considering the restrictions.

“Online harms don’t end as soon as you turn 15 or 16 or 17,” said Miller. “We have some work to do, frankly, if we want to get it right. The politics perhaps of it are inconvenient, but the policy has to be right as well.”

The liberal government reconvened the expert advisory group on online safety last month.

The group was initially created in 2022 to inform the government’s Bill C-63, the proposed Online Harms Act.

The bill would make changes to the Criminal Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act all in the name of protecting youth from harmful content.

That bill died on the order paper when parliament was prorogued last January.

At the convention, liberal party members voted in favour of the resolution to protect Canadian youth from social media harms.

The resolution suggested that the government set a minimum age of 16 to create social media accounts, to establish a regulatory framework, to create a digital safety body, and invest in digital literacy and mental health supports for youth.

The government, along with its advisory body, says its commitment to addressing online harms remains steady and with the Liberal party now at a parliamentary majority, the future of the bill, once tabled, is almost guaranteed.

READ MORE: Federal Liberals back motion for under-16 social media ban