The move comes amid mounting evidence linking heavy social media use to increased rates of anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, and distorted body image among youth.
In a significant step to safeguard young people from the documented dangers of social media, the Canadian government has introduced legislation that would prohibit children under 16 from creating accounts on major social media platforms.
The proposed Safe Social Media Act, introduced in the House of Commons on Wednesday by Culture Minister Marc Miller, would ban children under the age of 16 from creating social media accounts on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and similar platforms.
The move comes amid mounting evidence linking heavy social media use to increased rates of anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, and distorted body image among youth.
Canadian officials cited studies showing that platforms designed to maximize engagement often exploit the vulnerabilities of adolescent brains still developing impulse control and judgment.
The legislation requires platforms to implement age-verification systems and to delete any existing accounts belonging to users under 16.
Under the bill, social media companies would be required to conduct risk assessments and take concrete steps to mitigate harms to young users. This includes limiting addictive design features such as
