Letter to the Editor

Canadian children deserve the same online protections as American children.

The recent $18-billion settlement between Meta and a coalition of U.S. states, involving allegations that Meta’s platforms contributed to harms experienced by children and youth and that the company misled the public about the safety of its products, reinforces our concerns about the harmful and lasting effects social media can have on young people.

As part of the settlement, Meta will implement safeguards for users under 18 in the U.S., including age-related content restrictions, age-verification measures and features designed to reduce excessive use of its platforms. The changes demonstrate that stronger safeguards for children and youth are both possible and necessary.

We are calling on Meta to immediately implement these same protections here in Canada. In fact, I urge them to fix their platforms now and address the widest possible range of effects to the safety and well-being of our children. There are many open lawsuits in Canada against social media platforms, but Canadian families should not have to wait for the outcomes of lawsuits to benefit from safeguards. It should not take legal action for a company to do what is right to protect young people on its platforms.

B.C. has never been afraid to stand up to powerful corporations and hold them accountable when their products or practices cause harm to people and communities. We remain committed to using all available tools at our disposal to protect people online and ensure those responsible for harm are held accountable.

B.C. has been a national leader in online safety, from passing and strengthening the Intimate Images Protection Act to successfully advocating for many of the key reforms now reflected in the federal government’s proposed Safe Social Media Act. We will continue pushing for stronger, enforceable protections to help keep children and young people safe online.

Niki Sharma,

Attorney General of British Columbia

Article Share