Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has proposed banning children from using social media and artificial intelligence chatbots.
Modern.az reports that the “Engadget” platform has published information about this. He voiced this initiative at a charity event and later shared it on the social platform X.
In his speech, Kinew drew attention to the negative effects of social media platforms on children, stating that these platforms sometimes promote content that can harm children's psychology for the sake of “likes”, views, and revenue. According to him, “children's attention and childhood should never be turned into a source of profit.” Currently, no specific details have been disclosed regarding the proposed ban. For example, key issues such as age limits, when the law will come into force, and how it will be implemented are still uncertain.
This initiative is not limited to Manitoba. The "Liberal Party of Canada" has also adopted a resolution supporting the restriction of social media and AI chatbot use for individuals under 16 across the country. Other initiatives discuss lowering this limit to 14 years, which is stricter than the rules already applied in some countries like Australia.
However, experts express doubts about the effectiveness of such bans. A survey conducted by the "Molly Rose Foundation" showed that many teenagers continue to use social media accounts despite such restrictions and can easily bypass the bans.
