Now another country wants to protect children from the harm caused by social media, for which it is bringing a new law. The name of this country is Canada and the government there has introduced a new digital security bill. Under the new bill, teenagers and children under 16 years of age will be banned from social media. However, under the new law, platforms that follow certain security rules may also be exempted.
AI chatbots will also be regulated
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According to the information, the new bill also proposes to create a digital regulator to make AI chatbots safe, which will actually draft security rules. With the introduction of the Digital Safety Act Bill, Canada has been added to the list of countries that are introducing stricter laws for social media platforms regarding the potential negative effects on children. Canadian Minister Mark Miller has said that he has seen how serious the consequences of online harm can be. He further said that the safety of children cannot be ignored.
Fines will be imposed for not following the rules
Canada’s proposed bill also mentions penalties, stating that if a company does not comply with the rules, a fine of 3 percent of global revenue or 10 million Canadian dollars (approximately Rs 68 crore), whichever is higher, can be imposed. Proposing Bill C-34, the Government of Canada said online harms harm not only citizens but also the design and operating systems of digital services.
Keeping security issues in mind, the bill seeks to impose new security rules for social media and AI chatbots. Along with this, companies will have to identify potential threats on their platforms and work towards reducing them.
Australia has become the first country
In December last year, Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16. Within a month of the law’s implementation, companies had collectively deactivated the accounts of five million teenagers.
More countries are also preparing
Not only Canada, other countries also want to reduce the negative impact of social media on children. For this, those countries are also working towards tightening the rules on the use of social media.
Greece announced
Greece announced in April that it would ban social media for children under 15 from January 2027.