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Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced a youth ban on social media and AI chatbots Saturday, mirroring Australia’s under-16 law and forcing platforms to verify ages province-wide.
The policy drops at the NDP spring dinner. Manitoba pioneers in Canada. No age specified, no enforcement details, no timeline. Platforms face fines like Australia’s $48.8 million cap. TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Character.AI, Replika targeted.
Federal Liberals pushed similar resolution February, non-binding. Manitoba acts. Academics at McGill, Toronto warn against. Privacy advocates fear verification surveillance.
Bans demand age assurance. Self-attest fails. ID checks, biometrics, behavioural signals required. Platforms balk. Enforcement teeth unclear. Underground use likely.
Australia launched December. Manitoba follows. Feds watch. Patchwork compliance looms.
AI Chatbots Caught
Social media obvious. AI new. ChatGPT, Nomi, Janitor AI hit. Mental health concerns: peers shunned, sexual chats, suicide prompts. Liberals cited studies.
Platforms scramble. Age gates, parental consent. Startups build verification. Privacy hits.
Builders Adapt
Canadian AI products scramble. Youth-facing? Gate now. Verification stacks race. Provinces lead, feds lag. Compliance multiplies costs.
Global signal. Age assurance standardises. Platforms lose anonymity. Parents regain control? Or surveillance state? Manitoba tests waters. Watch outcomes.
Also read: Stanford’s AI virus designs cross from theory to lab reality • GPT-Image 2 redraws the creative AI map with entity persistence and native watermarking • GPT-Image 2.0 drops 8K photorealism, slashing creative production costs
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