Federal Liberals must follow Manitoba’s lead

It is always easy to criticize elected officials when they make bad decisions and ignore good advice. It should be just as easy to give them credit when they make good decisions based on that advice.

Eleven days ago, we discussed steps currently being taken by various governments to ban social media use by children. We noted that delegates to the recent Liberal Party national convention in Montreal had passed a non-binding resolution to support such a ban. We reviewed some of the overwhelming medical and scientific evidence of the harm that social media is doing to children, including here in Canada. Finally, we also pointed out that the idea of banning social media use by children appears to have a broad base of support across the country, including among the opposition Conservatives and New Democrats.

Based on all of those facts, we called upon the federal government to emulate the example set by Australia, which has already banned the use of social media by children, by implementing similar measures here in Canada.

The Carney government has not yet indicated whether it plans to act on the issue, but Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has. On Saturday night, he announced that his government will soon be taking steps to ban children from using social media accounts and artificial intelligence chatbots. He justified the need for doing so by saying “These tools have been designed by … people who understand our psychology, who understand our biology … They have designed these tools and optimized them to hack our children’s reward system in their brain.”

“These are forces that contribute to anxiety and depression,” he added, and warned that “These are forces that lead to young women being trafficked.”

Kinew has not yet revealed specific details of his plan, but Tracy Schmidt, the province’s education minister, says Manitobans can expect to see the first phase of the ban roll out in schools. She says her department is consulting with school divisions, the community and parents on the specifics of what the measures could look like in schools, but confirmed that they would be comparable to the earlier prohibition of cellphones in classrooms.

When that happens, Manitoba will become the first province to take tangible steps toward controlling social media use by children. An all-party committee of Quebec MNAs recommended a ban for kids under 14 last year, but legislation that would enact such a ban in that province may still be months or years away. Similarly, the Saskatchewan government is consulting with the public regarding a ban for children under 16.

All of that should be regarded as encouraging news, in that it is intended to protect children, but laws enacted by provinces would create an inconsistent, patchwork approach across the country. Of even greater concern, there are also legitimate doubts regarding the ability of any province to compel large social media companies, located outside of Canada, to fully comply with such provincial bans. That concern is amplified by a report in Monday’s Sun, which revealed that not all social media platforms are rigorously complying with the Australian law, leading to questions about the adequacy and viability of enforcement measures.

If the government of Australia, a national government with foreign relations powers, does not possess the power and influence required to convince international social media organizations to take the steps necessary to make the ban fully effective, how can a single Canadian province hope to achieve such an outcome? It can’t, and that’s why it is so vital for our federal government to respect the will of Canadians and follow the leadership of our premier on this issue.

The previous Liberal government had introduced Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, but that legislation failed to become law before last year’s federal election was called. Given that reality, it is now the duty of the Carney government to table strong new legislation that will protect Canada’s children from the dangers lurking online. The well-being of countless kids across the country depends on it.