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B.C.’s attorney general says the federal government’s new online safety legislation can’t come soon enough, even as it falls short of what the province wanted.
Niki Sharma says the proposed bill addresses many of the B.C. government’s concerns by introducing age restrictions for social media and regulating the companies behind AI chatbots.
But Sharma says the bill doesn’t address all of her government’s concerns, and lacks a requirement for AI companies to report violent content to police.
She says it’s something the province asked for after it was revealed OpenAI did not flag worrisome interactions between its chatbot and the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooter, who killed eight people and then herself in February.
B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma says Ottawa should legislate how and when young people can use social media, saying a full ban on certain ages ‘has a lot of benefits’ and calling for legal standards for social media platforms’ design features.
Sharma says Culture Minister Marc Miller told her the government wants guidelines that would lay out the responsibility platforms have to report certain content, even though specific requirements aren’t in the bill.
The legislation, introduced as Bill C-34 in the House of Commons on Wednesday, would force social media companies to block access for children under 16, though platforms can get an exemption if they put the appropriate safeguards in place.
The mother of Amanda Todd, a B.C. teenager who took her own life in 2012 after years of cyberbullying and sexual extortion through social media, says it is an important step toward keeping young people safe online.
“This proposed legislation reflects an urgent need to address the realities of online harm — including cyberbullying, exploitation, and coercion — that continue to impact Canadian youth and their families,” Carol Todd wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
She applauded the addition of an independent federal regulator that would enforce the bill through compliance orders and monetary fines.
Todd was one of several prominent online safety advocates who urged the federal government to introduce the bill.
“The lived experiences of survivors and families must remain at the centre of this work,” she wrote in her post.
Sharma said the legislation needs to pass quickly to protect children who are vulnerable to the harms of social media, adding that B.C. wants to be at the table for future discussions.
“Far too long have I sat with families that have experienced real tragedy, who have suffered greatly. And the type of change that we’re seeing in this bill can’t come fast enough,” she said.
