As Australia moves to ban social media for children, Quebec weighs following suit

As Australia moves to ban social media for children under 16, Quebec is debating whether to follow suit.

The provincial government decided last spring to study the possibility of setting a minimum age for social media accounts, following a push from the youth wing of the governing Coalition Avenir Québec.

But a committee examining the issue has been hearing mixed opinions on the idea, with some experts suggesting a ban would be difficult to enforce and could do more harm than good.

The Australian Senate passed a social media ban for children under 16 on Thursday, which is set to become a world-first law. The ban could be a model for other jurisdictions looking to combat the mental health impacts of social media use among young people.

The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to $45 million for failing to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.

"We were happy to see this measure approved by the Australian government. It gave us hope for what we proposed," Aurélie Diep, president of the youth wing of the CAQ, said in an interview. "So for us, it is very positive news."

Quebec Premier François Legault initially ridiculed the idea of a minimum age for social media when it was proposed by the opposition Parti Québécois in May. But he changed his tune after Diep published an open letter calling for a ban on social media accounts for children younger than 16.

Soon after, the government opted to create a special committee to study the effects of screens on young people, including the possibility of a ban.

Diep, 22, said she began to use social media around the age of 14 or 15, though some of her friends encouraged her to join earlier by lying about her age. Platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat all require users to be at least 13 years old. She said young people are struggling with poor concentration and lost sleep due to time spent on their phones.

"In the evening, before I go to bed, I say to myself, 'One last look at Instagram and then I'm going to bed,'" she said. "And then I might spend an hour on it."

In May, La Presse reported the results of a survey that showed 71 per cent of adult respondents in Quebec said they supported a social media ban for minors.

The special committee has just finished a two-week tour of 18 schools. Amélie Dionne, the CAQ member of the legislature chairing the committee, said they heard from many students who support a ban, but many also said they've lied about their age to create social media accounts.

"There's a certain paradox there," she said. "The big observation we made from this tour is that, in fact, young people want to be supervised, they want to have supervision."

Still, the special committee has heard a range of opinions since it began holding hearings in the fall, with some experts suggesting a ban could further isolate vulnerable children.