They're doing awful things to kids for a few likes and more money
In Winnipeg, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has proposed Canada's first law banning youth from social media platforms and AI chatbots, joining a growing international movement that treats algorithmic design not as a neutral feature but as a deliberate instrument of harm. The announcement, made before nearly a thousand people at a political gala, reflects a deepening societal reckoning with what it means to allow profit-driven technology to shape the inner lives of children. The proposal is bold in principle and bare in detail — a declaration of intent that now must survive the far harder passage from speech to enforceable law.
- Manitoba's Premier has staked out historic ground, proposing Canada's first legislative ban on youth access to social media and AI — but offered no age threshold, no enforcement plan, and took no questions afterward.
- The urgency is grounded in documented harm: young people are experiencing rising rates of anxiety, depression, sleep loss, and fractured attention, with social media's addictive design implicated as a key driver.
- Australia's December 2024 ban — the world's first — deactivated nearly five million youth accounts within a month, but also revealed a critical flaw: teens simply migrated to unregulated platforms and AI services not covered by the law.
- Manitoba's wider net, which includes AI chatbots from the outset, attempts to close that gap — but tech analysts warn that enforcement across a shifting digital landscape remains deeply uncertain.
- The proposal lands within a global surge of similar legislation across Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, France, and the EU, with Canada's federal government and multiple provinces now actively exploring parallel measures.
- The political will is visible and growing; what remains absent is the blueprint — and the legal durability — needed to turn a principle into protection.
On a Saturday night in Winnipeg, Premier Wab Kinew stood before nine hundred people at an NDP gala and announced something no Canadian province had tried before: a law banning youth from social media platforms and AI chatbots. The proposal is the first of its kind in Canada, arriving as part of a broader international wave of digital restrictions aimed at protecting young people from technology designed, as Kinew put it, to manufacture addiction through the "infinite scroll" — all in pursuit of engagement and profit.
Kinew was unsparing in his critique. These platforms, he argued, are not neutral tools. They amplify impossible comparisons, stoke outrage, and expose children to content they are not ready to encounter. The health consequences — anxiety, depression, reduced sleep, diminished attention — are real, even if researchers continue to debate the precise nature of cause and effect.
What Kinew did not offer was a plan. No age threshold. No enforcement mechanism. No timeline. When the speech ended, he did not take questions. Manitoba's ban exists, for now, as a declaration without a design.
The province is drawing on Australia's example. In December 2024, Australia became the first country to enact a social media age ban, requiring platforms to block users under sixteen or face penalties reaching nearly $49 million Canadian dollars. Within a month, five million youth accounts had been deactivated. But the lesson was complicated: young people simply moved to platforms the law didn't cover, including AI services. Manitoba's proposal attempts to address this by including artificial intelligence from the start.
The global momentum is real. Indonesia, Vietnam, France, and the European Union are all advancing similar measures. Within Canada, federal lawmakers and provinces including Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Saskatchewan are exploring the same terrain. Tech analyst Carmi Levy suggested that this proliferation of government engagement — across jurisdictions and levels — is ultimately a sign of progress, even if the hard work of defining, enforcing, and legally defending these restrictions still lies ahead. Manitoba has named its intention. The far more difficult task now begins.
On a Saturday night in Winnipeg, Manitoba's Premier Wab Kinew stood before nine hundred people at an NDP fundraising gala and announced something no Canadian province had attempted before: a law to ban youth from social media platforms and AI chatbots. The move marks the first legislative proposal of its kind in the country, though it arrives as part of a gathering wave of digital restrictions sweeping across multiple nations.
Kinew's argument was direct. The platforms, he said, are engineered with a single purpose in mind—to trap users in what he called the "infinite scroll," a design feature that manufactures addiction while generating enormous profits for technology executives. The premier didn't mince words about the stakes. These companies, he told the crowd, pursue engagement and revenue "all in the name of a few likes" and "all in the name of money," enriching what he described as a small group of wealthy tech entrepreneurs who already possess considerable wealth. The platforms, he continued, are not neutral tools. They amplify unfavorable comparisons between users and impossible standards. They amplify outrage. They expose children to content they are not developmentally ready to encounter.
The health consequences are real, though researchers emphasize that more investigation is needed to fully map cause and effect. Social media use among young people has been associated with reduced sleep, diminished attention spans, anxiety, and depression. The question of whether the platforms cause these problems or simply attract vulnerable users remains contested in the academic literature, but the correlation is undeniable.
Yet Kinew offered no specifics about how his government would actually execute this ban. He did not name an age threshold. He did not explain enforcement mechanisms. He did not provide a timeline. When the speech ended, he did not take questions from reporters. What Manitoba is proposing exists, for now, as a principle without a blueprint.
The province is not working in isolation. Australia implemented the world's first social media age ban in December, requiring platforms to prevent anyone under sixteen from holding an account or face penalties up to $48.8 million Canadian dollars. The law applies to TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X, Snapchat, Twitch, Kick, and YouTube. Within a month, nearly five million accounts belonging to Australian youth had been deactivated. But tech analyst Carmi Levy noted a complication: young people simply migrated to other platforms not covered by the ban, including AI services. Manitoba's approach, Levy observed, casts a wider net by including artificial intelligence from the start—recognizing that AI may pose risks equal to or greater than social media itself.
Australia's move has inspired others. Indonesia and Vietnam have since enacted their own age restrictions. France is advancing legislation targeting users under fifteen, while the European Union is preparing an age verification application for online platforms. Dozens of countries are now considering similar measures. Within Canada, the federal government has signaled serious interest in age restrictions. The Liberal Party convention passed non-binding resolutions calling for bans on both social media and AI chatbots. Lawmakers in Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Saskatchewan are exploring the idea.
Levey argued that this proliferation of government involvement, across multiple levels and jurisdictions, is ultimately constructive. The more stakeholders engaged in the conversation, he said, the better positioned governments will be to develop solutions that actually work. But the hard part—defining what works, how to enforce it, and whether restrictions can survive the inevitable legal challenges—remains ahead. Manitoba has announced its intention. Now comes the far more difficult task of turning intention into law.
Citas Notables
These platforms are not neutral. They have been built this way to maximize engagement and amplify comparisons, outrage, and expose kids to content they're not ready for.— Premier Wab Kinew
Manitoba is casting a much wider net by recognizing that AI poses as significant or even worse a risk than social media and must be included in any legislation.— Tech analyst Carmi Levy
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did Kinew choose to announce this at a fundraising gala rather than, say, a legislative session or press conference?
It's worth noticing. A gala is a friendly crowd, people already aligned with his party. You get to frame the issue without immediate pushback. But it also meant no reporters got to ask the obvious follow-up questions—about age, enforcement, timeline. That silence is telling.
The Australian model deactivated five million youth accounts in a month. That sounds successful. Why would Levy worry about it?
Because those five million young people didn't stop using the internet. They just moved to platforms the law didn't cover—like AI chatbots. You can ban TikTok, but if a teenager can still spend six hours a day talking to an AI, have you solved the problem or just redirected it?
Is there actual scientific proof that social media causes depression and anxiety in youth, or is it correlation?
The source is honest about this: the link is documented, but researchers say more study is needed to establish causation. That's the real tension. We have strong evidence of harm, but not a complete mechanistic understanding. Governments are moving faster than the science can confirm.
What happens if Manitoba passes this law and tech companies simply ignore it?
That's the enforcement question Kinew didn't answer. Australia set a $48.8 million fine. But how do you actually verify age online without creating a surveillance apparatus? And what stops a teenager from using a parent's account or a VPN? The law sounds clean in theory. Implementation is messier.
Why include AI chatbots specifically? That seems like a different category from social media.
Because the platforms themselves aren't the only addictive technology. An AI chatbot can be endlessly engaging—it responds to you, it learns your preferences, it never gets tired of talking to you. In some ways it's more isolating than social media. Kinew's government recognized that banning TikTok while leaving ChatGPT available would be incomplete.
Does this feel like genuine policy or political theater?
Both, probably. Kinew is addressing a real concern that resonates with parents and voters. But the lack of detail—no age, no timeline, no enforcement plan—suggests this is a signal of intent rather than a finished proposal. It's a conversation starter, not a solution.