Bill C-34 — Canada’s proposed legislation to protect children from the harms of social media — is seeking to bar anyone under the age of 16 from holding accounts on regulated social media platforms. 

But while it strives to introduce strong and unprecedented measures in Canada for regulating online safety, the Safe Social Media Act is unclear about one of the most intensively designed products in children’s lives: video games. 

The proposed legislation has a significant gap. On one hand, a 14-year-old is prohibited from opening an Instagram account. On the other hand, they can legally open a potentially addictive mobile game, spend their allowance on micro-purchases designed as a randomized pull for a rare character, and game uncontrollably. In doing so, they would not trigger any of the protections the legislation is supposed to provide.

As researchers in Canada and globally are increasingly linking young people’s gaming habits to serious gambling problems later in life, Parliament must maximize the ability of any new tools — and laws — to protect young people.

Bill C-34 leaves room to regulate more than social media

Bill C-34 received first reading in the House of Commons on June 10. Once C-34 receives second reading, a parliamentary committee will hear input from experts and witnesses, study the bill and report back to the Commons with recommendations. MPs can then propose further amendments which would be debated before C-34 gets a third (and final) reading in Parliament, which it must pass to become law. There is no timeline for when this might occur.

When it reaches the committee stage, the Safe Social Media Act should do two things: 

clearly state whether features that promote problematic engagement built into video games fall within the bill’s mandate; and 

empower the proposed new Digital Safety Commission to assess those features, publicly report its findings and recommend that relevant game services be regulated.

The Safe Social Media Act is Ottawa’s second attempt to regulate........

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