Proposals to limit young people’s access to social media and artificial intelligence are set to take centre stage at the upcoming Liberal Party of Canada national convention next month.
Party members will gather in Montreal from April 9 to 11 to debate 24 policy resolutions, including several focused on online safety for children and youth.
Among them is a proposal from Quebec that would ban anyone under the age of 16 from accessing AI chatbots, including platforms like ChatGPT, citing concerns about harmful interactions and impacts on mental health.
A separate resolution calls for legislation similar to a recent move in Australia that would set a minimum age of 16 for creating social media accounts.
The proposal would place responsibility on tech companies to prevent underage users from signing up, and would establish a national digital safety body to monitor compliance and enforce penalties.
The issue is already drawing attention at the federal level, with Prime Minister Mark Carney indicating that age restrictions for social media are under consideration as part of broader online harms legislation.
However, Carney has said he has not yet decided whether Canada should adopt an outright ban similar to Australia’s approach, noting the need for further discussion and evidence.