The Alex Saz Show

Last week in Montreal, the Liberal Party of Canada passed a resolution setting the legal age for access to social media for Canadians at 16. For now, this is a non-binding resolution. But make no mistake. Mark Carney has already stated that a "social media age of majority is under consideration" as part of his government's online harms legislation. These same Liberals who are currently defending Bill C-8, a veritable "digital guillotine", allowing Ottawa to cut off your Internet access without a warrant or trial; now want to decide at what age your children are mature enough to speak online. This is not about protecting children, but rather about control. The Liberals' plan to force tech companies to verify the age of every Canadian user means: mass surveillance, mass data collection, and the end of online privacy. They want to force you to provide official identification simply to open a social media account. They want to create a national database cataloguing every Canadian's digital identity. And they want the government, not parents, to decide what your children can see, say, and do online. We don't want an authoritarian and paternalistic state. We will never support an age restriction on access to social media. It is important to understand that the Criminal Code contains several clauses prohibiting harming children online. Perhaps more resources need to be allocated to law enforcement to enforce the criminal code and protect children. We do not need more laws. Furthermore, while the Criminal Code can deter and punish those who harm children online, no law can effectively replace the attention, guidance, and supervision of parents. Parents are their children's first line of defense. They have the right and the duty to protect them by putting safeguards in place regarding their access to the Internet, including social media. At the People's Party of Canada, we believe in a very simple principle: PARENTS raise children. That is not the role of governments. The solution to online harms is not a blanket government ban that punishes all young people. The solution lies in parental responsibility, digital literacy, and holding big tech accountable, not in giving Ottawa more power to spy on Canadians.