QUESTION PERIOD — Justice
Online Harm
December 10, 2024
Senator Gold, last September, the World Health Organization signalled the consequences of social media use on youth development and long-term health outcomes. It calls for greater responsibility on the part of technology platforms.
Only weeks ago, the Australian government took action and now has a strict law adopted by Parliament that would ban access to social networks for those under 16 years old. The British government is considering following Australia’s lead.
Senator Gold, there is a consensus that technology companies need to change the way they exploit children and teenagers. We know these platforms are designed to be addictive, and it’s urgent to act to avoid damaging an entire generation.
Senator Gold, will the Canadian government respond to the World Health Organization’s calls to strengthen the responsibility of social media platforms when it comes to the well-being of youth users?
Thank you, senator, for your question and for underlining what we have come to understand altogether belatedly in many cases and painfully: The manipulation of our habits through the ease of access to information and the algorithms that lurk undetectable in so many social media platforms have had a negative impact not only on youth but also, frankly, on too many of us in this country and elsewhere.
It is also regrettable that too many social media platforms too often pay, at best, lip service to regulating or policing their approach to feeding us what we already want.
The government is considering all options, but there are no plans to announce anything in the immediate term.
In March 2023, Prime Minister Trudeau said:
As a parent, I spend a lot of time talking to my kids about what’s online and how they should try and, you know, go outside and play a little more sports and not get so wrapped up in their phones.
This is, of course, great. However, do you agree, Senator Gold, that individuals’ parenting will not be enough to protect our kids and that we will need to do something as a government?
Senator, I confess I don’t know the answer, so I’m not going to assume. Legislation is certainly not the only tool. If there’s any legislative intervention, the devil or God is in the details. Absent that in front of us, I hesitate to speculate. It’s a social problem we must address in a holistic way.
