OTTAWA ¨C The Canadian government introduced a digital safety bill on Wednesday that would ban social media for children under 16 with exemptions for platforms that meet certain safety standards, months after Australia enacted the world¡¯s first ?social media ban for young people. The bill also aims to make AI chatbots safer by setting ?up a digital ?regulator to establish safety standards, a government official said.
Companies could face penalties of 3% ?of global revenue or up to 10 million Canadian dollars?($7.2 million), whichever is more, for failing to comply.
¡°Social media platforms and AI chatbots are designed to capture attention. They do not support healthy childhood development and have become a ?source of anxiety, isolation, depression and a range of other mental health challenges for many young Canadians,¡± said Marc Miller, minister ?of Canadian identity and culture.
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