Big step by Canadian government, will ban social media accounts of children below 16 years of age

Toronto. The Government of Canada has taken a big step for the safety of children. Under the new law introduced on Wednesday, social media accounts of children below 16 years of age may be banned. The government says that social media companies will be able to get exemption only when they prove that their platform is completely safe for children.

What did the minister say?

Canadian Culture Minister Mark Miller expressed concern over this. He said that we are failing to keep our children safe. Enough is enough and we have to enforce basic safety rules. This law will focus on preventing seven types of harmful things. This includes inciting self-harm, inciting violence, spreading hatred and posting personal photos without consent.

The government will create a new department called ‘Digital Safety Commission of Canada’. It may take 18 months to start working completely. This department will decide which companies should be exempted from the rules. Companies will now have to adopt a surefire method of age verification. Platforms which show adult content will not get any exemption.

This law is not limited to social media only. In this, rules have also been set for companies making Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots. These companies will have to work responsibly and make special arrangements to help in times of crisis.

Many countries have already taken steps

Many other countries of the world are also taking such steps. Australia, Brazil and Indonesia have already imposed age restrictions. Countries like Britain, France, Spain and South Korea are also working on similar rules. After the introduction of this law in Australia, about 47 lakh accounts of children have been closed. Canadian officials will learn from Australia’s experiences and implement their own rules.

‘Canadian Center for Child Protection’ has praised this decision of the government. The organization says that cases of crime and exploitation of children on social media have increased rapidly. Therefore, there is a great need for such strict laws.