Kids are back in class, and Parliament is back in session. Pupils and politicians alike will be active on their phones when they ought not to be — texting, tweeting, TikToking. While we unfortunately can’t legislate on the social media use of our politicians, it is well past time we did so for students.
If Canadians turned their attention from events south of the border to global developments, they might notice a pattern emerging. Developed countries outside the Americas are rapidly taking steps to prevent their young people from accessing social media and screens.
Australia is at the forefront. As of this December, it will require social media companies including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube to take “reasonable steps” to prevent those under 16 from “creating or keeping” social media accounts. Platforms will face fines of up to about US$30 million for non-compliance.
In explaining these restrictions, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner noted the need to protect young Australians from the pressures and risks resulting from “design features that encourage them to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing.”
Denmark, France, Greece, Spain and New Zealand are currently contemplating measures similar to Australia’s. France and other European countries have also taken the more modest step of requiring parental consent for teenagers and children to create social media accounts.
Canada, by contrast, does not explicitly require parental consent for minors to create social media accounts, although privacy guidelines functionally require it for kids under 13.
Mobile phone bans
Another key measure some countries are taking is banning the use of mobile phones in schools.
Since 2018, France has had a nationwide ban on using mobile phones in middle schools. China, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and New Zealand also have — or will soon have — similar bans. Some ban phones at all secondary school levels and some prohibit phones from even being brought on the premises.
In Canada, all of the provinces have introduced some type of phone-free classroom policy, according to a May 2025 report by The Dais, a think tank at Toronto Metropolitan University.
“However, cell phone restrictions vary not only by province but often by school district, leaving many teachers and classroom staff unsupported to enforce new measures,” its report says.
Meanwhile, at the federal level, the government is retreading tired ground.
For nearly half a decade, Ottawa has been working to pass online harms legislation that would require social media companies to address egregious content, such as content that incites violence or hatred or sexually victimizes kids. As Canadian Affairs reported this week, the new government is currently preparing to introduce a new version of this bill.
The government bears much of the responsibility for the delays passing this bill. Its first round of consultations was marred by accusations of non-transparency. And it made the ill-fated decision to stuff controversial hate-offence provisions into an online harms bill that had otherwise achieved broad consensus, delaying its passage.
This legislative session, Parliament must prioritize finally passing its new online harms bill.
But it must not stop there. More than 80 per cent of Canadians — in all age groups and provinces — support mobile phone ban policies, according to a Leger survey of 2,500 Canadians.
Two-thirds of Canadians — including a majority of Canadians under 30 — also support restricting social media use by children under the age of 16.
And the need is dire. Excessive screen time has been linked to a range of adverse health and academic outcomes, The Dais’ report says. This includes lower standardized test scores, increased anxiety, depression, aggression, poor sleep, and a higher risk of obesity.
Data indicate Canadians’ screen time is indeed excessive. Recent research found Canadian adolescents spent an average of eight hours a day on screens in 2022, up from six in 2018.
At these levels, can anyone be surprised so many of our youth and children are struggling to stay mentally and physically healthy? Can anyone be surprised that Canadian adolescents’ performance in reading, mathematics and science has fallen steadily for more than two decades?
Years of inaction at home, coupled with impressive international action, means Canada’s Parliament that is now at the back of the class. This parliamentary session will reveal whether it cares to ensure Canada’s youth don’t end up in the same place.
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