Manitoba premier addresses province’s plan to ban youth from social media, AI chatbots

WINNIPEG – Manitoba premier Wab Kinew spoke with media for the first time since announcing his government’s plan to roll out a ban for youth on social media and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot platforms.

On Saturday, speaking at a Manitoba New Democrats party fundraiser in Winnipeg, Kinew said Manitoba would be the first province in Canada to prevent youth 16 and under from using social media platforms and AI chatbots like ChatGPT.

Kinew spoke to reporters at another event on Tuesday afternoon and was asked when legislation on this ban could be presented to the legislature.

He responded, “As soon as possible.”

He said he wants to work and consult with youth groups, teachers, and school divisions to move away from using social media and AI in the classroom.

“YouTube may be used today but would not be allowed after this ban and so teachers will need to get ready, school leaders will need to get ready,” he said.

Kinew said he also would work with tech companies to discuss whether or not they want to modify their platforms in the future.

Enforcement directed to big tech companies

Kinew said he wants to set fines for enforcement “at a level that this province has never seen before.”

He emphasizes fines and enforcement would not be on parents or children, but solely on the tech companies.

Kinew claims Facebook and Meta will spend more money on data centres this year than the entire size of Manitoba’s economy.

“We can’t fine them $10,000, $100,000 or a million dollars,” he said. “The enforcement is going to have to include a fine framework, and they are going to be bigger fines than you have ever seen in Manitoba before, probably some numbers with b’s in them.”

As to how enforcement would actually work remains to be seen.

Public concern has been mounting in recent years over the risks social media may pose to children, ranging from its potentially addictive design to exposure to cyberbullying and online predators.

Kinew said society has become “laissez-faire” about social media and that needs to change.

“Look what it’s done to us. Donald Trump is president. You have kids who are harming themselves. You have measles outbreaks in our province. All these things are because we’ve let social media dominate our lives without understanding how pernicious billionaires who designed this have been at targeting us and making us addicted to our phones.”

This decision to ban these platforms is all about protecting kids, Kinew stated.

“Young people whose brains are still developing need to be protected from the really damaging impacts, particularly at a time of your life where you are figuring out who you are,” he said.

“There really is no difference between AI and social media when you get into the technology,” he said. “Effectively, the social media platforms are sophisticated AIs, which are trying to keep you and kids hooked to screens.”

Even with these proposed changes, Kinew believes these tech companies will still find ways to keep people engaged. His main focus is ensuring children aren’t being affected.

“Our responsibility as politicians is to try and protect young minds while the brains are still developing, while the judgment is still being formed, while resilience is still in development.”

Manitoba’s education minister said on Monday that the province could turn to classrooms as the first place to ban children from using social media and AI chatbots.

“This is very early days,” Tracy Schmidt said at an unrelated press conference. “A step like this is going to certainly take legislative and regulatory processes.”

Other provinces may follow Manitoba’s lead

Ontario’s education minister told reporters Tuesday that it’s looking to restrict social media for kids under a certain age.

On Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said his government plans to send out surveys in about a week, asking parents and families about their thoughts on social media limits for youth.

Moe said it would be more effective if Ottawa imposed the changes nationally, instead of implementing alone.

In Quebec, an all-party legislative committee recommended last year that youth under 14 be prohibited from having social media accounts without parental or guardian consent.

‘I’m still unsure’

Winnipeg parent Samantha Powderhorn has three kids under the age of 13.

She currently does not allow her kids to use social media.

“It’s an open window for bullying and for my son, he is 13 and he is on the autism spectrum, and he would be a target,” she said.

In saying that, when she found out Kinew’s government plans to ban social media and AI uses for kids, she does support the decision, but admits she is confused as to how all of this could work.

“Is it all social media? It’s not very confirming as to what,” she said.

“There’s still that uncertainty of like, how am I going to connect with my kiddos; how am I going to make sure they are safe?”

‘Significant’ technology required

Tech analyst Carmi Levy says policies such as banning social media and AI use require age verification technologies and processes in order to enforce these rules.

He says there needs to be a mechanism in place when someone signs in to a particular system, the technology can determine how old the person is and whether or not they should be granted access.

“This is way more than the current state which is where people give their birthdays, and it’s taken on faith, it’s basically the honour system,” he said. “You need a way to verify that to determine that it’s in fact true.”

Australia became the first country to prohibit youth from using social media. There, it’s up to the companies, who may ask for government I.D. or utilize technology that estimates the users’ age.

Members of the federal Liberal Party recently adopted a non-binding resolution endorsing the same approach, and Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the proposal warrants consideration.

Levy says verification technology could also use AI to monitor activities.

“Are you behaving in a way that’s consistent with an adult, or do you sound like a kid?” he said. “If you sound like a kid, we think you are too young and you’re off the platform.”

Risk of privacy

David Gerhard says social media companies can’t guarantee private, personal information can be protected, which is a concern for some.

“There will be conversations about whether it’s appropriate for the large social media companies to have the identification of, not just children, but everybody,” Gerhard said, who is the head of computer science at the University of Manitoba.

“It’s not just the children who have to say, ‘I’m not able to use these techniques,’ but I have to say that I’m all above 16 and so do you.”

With files from the Canadian Press