Our Kids Are Not for Sale

It is time for Canada to follow Australia’s lead and ban social media for youth.

On December 10, 2025, Australia became the first country to ban social media access for young people under 16. Another 12 countries are in various stages of following Australia’s example and legislating similar bans.

There is growing public awareness that the use of social media poses risks for the developing mind. The wide variety of problems includes:

• shortened attention spans;
• reduction in real social interactions;
• risks of higher exposure to bullying;
• and in too many cases, exposure to sexploitation.

A case in point: On March 25^th, in a landmark and historic legal judgement, a jury in California found that tech giants Meta and Google were to blame for causing depression and anxiety in a woman who had compulsively used social media when she was a child. The jury awarded her $6 million, with Meta responsible for 70% of that amount.

On Saturday May 16^th, one of my favourite CBC Radio programs, The House, presented an excellent segment on this very issue. One of the individuals interviewed was Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who is contemplating legislating such a ban in his province.

He was right on the money, as he always is. To quote Kinew: “Our kids are not for sale. Their childhoods are not data points to be commodified and add another billion to Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk or … Sam Altman’s big pile of money.”

Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan is opting to ask residents what they think about the issue by mailing questionnaires to households province-wide. He has said that he will present their feedback to the federal government for consideration.

Expert opinion is still somewhat mixed about the potential effectiveness of such a ban. The Australian experiment is only five months old and although evaluation is now underway, it is still too early to draw conclusions.

A reported 4.7 million accounts were reported removed, as required, from 10 platforms. On the other hand, some young teens reported simply opening new accounts, while others moved to different platforms. Some did report valuing that they had more free time and were feeling less compelled to be connected.

There were also unanticipated consequences. Some youth reported feeling isolated and ignored. Research showed that teens were unable to access news. Young people with disabilities found themselves losing friend groups.

The Canadian government is finally seriously considering this issue. One notable difference in both Premier Kinew’s and Ottawa’s approach is that both are also considering restricting access to AI chatbots and other forms of AI interaction.

As bad as social media interaction has proven for youth, research is showing that the infiltration of AI into the daily lives of young people is making the situation much worse. Many report turning to AI chatbots for advice or guidance, friendship, and even emotional or mental health support. One major problem is that young people often don’t have the skills or experience needed to judge the value or even the veracity of AI interactions.

On the other hand, older teens and young adults are often the experts in the uses of AI and social media, and many are questioning the current approach. Youth activists in Europe are opposing a blanket ban, saying that policymakers instead should implement stronger regulations, better enforcement, and digital literacy education. Young people in the U.K. have similar advice for the government, saying, “Don’t shut us out. Work with us.”

A group of young people in Canada are taking action through an initiative called Gen (Z) AI, which has convened 100 young Canadians across four regional forums in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Halifax to build a policy consensus that has the potential to impact Canada’s legislative and regulatory approaches to AI. They have now posted a survey link, asking other Canadian youth in that age group for their feedback on the recommendations from the forums.

A more nuanced approach may be needed, and young people should definitely be included in developing the relevant policies. With that in mind, fingers crossed that our federal government acts soon and decisively to protect youth from the corrosive effects of AI and social media.

It won’t be soon enough.

Daily atmospheric CO₂ [Courtesy of CO2.Earth]

Latest daily total (May 20, 2026): 432.19ppm

One year ago (May 20, 2025): 430.79ppm