This Canadian Province Is Set To Ban Social Media, AI Chatbots For Youth Under 16

Last Updated:April 27, 2026, 14:31 IST

Members of the federal Liberal party voted earlier this month to set 16 as the age for Canadians to be able to use social media accounts during the party’s policy convention.

Canadian province of Manitoba is considering to ban social media and AI chatbots for children under the age of 16.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced the policy in a speech at an event held by the New Democratic Party (NDP) on Saturday, as reported by Canadian media outlets.

“These platforms are designed to maximise engagement and generate profits for a handful of tech oligarchs who do not align with our values as Canadians and Manitobans," he said.

“More and more, social media—and now AI chatbots—are being used to erode the attention spans of our children," Kinew added.

If the policy is implemented, Manitoba could soon be the first province in Canada to ban social media, including AI chatbots, for youth.

As reported by Bloomberg, the move places Manitoba ahead of Canada’s federal government, which is considering similar restrictions at the national level.

Members of the federal Liberal party voted earlier this month to set 16 as the age for Canadians to be able to use social media accounts during the party’s policy convention.

Later, Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra said that the Progressive Conservative government is also considering a province-wide prohibition on cellphones in elementary and high schools, along with a social media ban for children under 16.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also echoed similar sentiments, saying that his government is also planning to ask the public their views on a ban.

In February this year, a 18-year-old shooter in the town of Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia killed eight people. It later emerged in the report that the shooter was barred from company OpenAI’s platform ChatGPT but law enforcement was not notified about their concerning interactions and they even managed to create another account.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologised for that error in judgement earlier this month. In a letter to the township of Tumbler Ridge, he said, “While I know words can never be enough, I believe an apology is necessary to recognize the harm and irreversible loss your community has suffered."

Last year in December, Australia became the first country in the world to officially ban children under 16 from having accounts on major social media platforms.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the law as a world-first step aimed at protecting young people. He said Australia was showing that “enough is enough" when it comes to the bad influence of social media on children.

Under the new rules, platforms are required to remove accounts belonging to users under 16 or face heavy fines. As the law took effect, teenagers across the country lost access to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and several other platforms.

After Australia, Indonesia had also announced plans to ban social media use for children under 16 in a bid to prevent them from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and internet addiction.

Communications Minister Meutya Hafid said that the government would begin deactivating accounts belonging to children under 16 on several high-risk platforms, news agency AFP reported.

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