Liberal Party members have backed age restrictions on social media and AI chatbots. Party grassroots passed a non-binding resolution Saturday morning at the national convention in Montreal. It sets 16 as the minimum age for Canadians to hold social media accounts. The onus would fall on social media companies to enforce the rule.
A second resolution targeted artificial intelligence. It calls for banning anyone under 16 from accessing all AI chatbots and similar technologies, including OpenAI's ChatGPT. The two proposals were among 24 policy pitches voted on as the convention wrapped up.
What the Resolutions Propose
The social media resolution follows Australia's lead. Australia passed a law late last year setting a minimum age of 16 for social media accounts. It also required platforms to prevent underage users from creating accounts. The Liberal resolution mirrors that approach.
The AI resolution came from the party's Quebec wing. It argues these technologies reduce young people's desire for peer interaction. It also claims they have pushed some minors into sexual conversations. In some cases, chatbots have even recommended suicide to vulnerable youth.
The Tumbler Ridge Factor
Recent events added urgency to the debate. OpenAI is under scrutiny after a disturbing revelation. The company flagged and banned an account belonging to the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooter six months before she killed eight people — most of them children. But it did not alert police.
Taylor Owen, a McGill University professor on the government's expert panel on online safety, weighed in. He said it would be hard to justify an online harms bill that ignores AI chatbots. They are the digital product citizens worry about most right now.
Still, Owen urged caution on outright bans. He argued a permanent ban punishes children for problems they did not create. Instead, he wants an independent regulator to force transparency and risk assessments on tech companies.
Voices Behind the Push
Jonathan Nuss led the charge on the social media resolution. The head of the Outremont Liberal riding association is a Montreal lawyer and father of two. He wants the vote to spark a national conversation about addictive technology.
"We keep kids safe from alcohol, from cigarettes, from plenty of other products that are dangerous for them," Nuss told The Canadian Press.
The resolution highlights several risks for young users. These include anxiety, cyberbullying, non-consensual image sharing, and exposure to hateful content. Nuss also pointed to a recent Los Angeles lawsuit. A jury ordered Meta and YouTube to pay millions for designing platforms that hooked young people without regard for their well-being.
Quebec MP Rachel Bendayan dismissed concerns about workarounds. She said social media companies must be more accountable. They need to stop allowing young children to use technologies designed to be addictive.
What Happens Next
Policies passed at Liberal conventions are non-binding. The cabinet does not have to act on them. But the votes do signal where the party base stands.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said an age of majority for social media is already being discussed. His government is developing new online harms legislation. He said last month the idea merits open debate, though he hasn't taken a firm position.
A January Globe and Mail report suggested the government is quietly working on a similar policy for children under 14. A recent Angus Reid poll found broad public support for banning those under 16 from social media platforms.
The Liberals are also expected to reintroduce elements of the Online Harms Act. That bill died on the order paper during the last session. Saturday's vote puts grassroots pressure firmly on the record. Whether Ottawa acts on it is another question entirely.
