Ontario education minister considering social media ban for U16s - BERITAJA

Ontario’s acquisition curate is considering a total, province-wide prohibition connected cellphones successful simple and precocious schools, on pinch a imaginable social media prohibition for children nether the property of 16 — pursuing a increasing world inclination to trim addiction and distraction.

In an question and reply pinch Focus Ontario to talk his overhaul of schoolhouse committee governance, Minister Paul Calandra said the authorities is readying the adjacent activity of reforms, aiming to build connected the existing out-of-sight compartment telephone argumentation successful classrooms.

“Potentially a complete compartment telephone prohibition successful our schools,” Calandra said. “Social media, arsenic well, because I deliberation that ties into the compartment telephone bans.”

While societal media apps are presently abnormal connected each education-related devices successful Ontario schools, Calandra said he’s keeping a adjacent watch connected different jurisdictions that person restricted entree based connected age.

Last December, Australia became the first state to walk a rule enforcing property limits connected societal media accounts. Other countries, specified arsenic the U.K. and France, are looking astatine akin policies.

On Wednesday, Canada’s Culture Minister, Marc Miller, said the national authorities is “very seriously” considering a societal media prohibition for children nether the property of 16.

Calandra revealed the argumentation is being studied by his office.

“I’m looking astatine immoderate of the activity that has been done successful Australia, immoderate of the activity that they’re trying to do successful immoderate of (American) states pinch respect to limiting students’ entree to societal media,” Calandra said. “It is thing I decidedly want to pursue.”

The curate said front-line educators person lamented the effect of compartment phones successful the schools, suggesting it has impacted information successful hallways and respect successful the classroom.

“We perceive partners, not only successful Canada but about the world, person said erstwhile we’ve removed compartment phones from our schools, erstwhile we person constricted societal media, respect work comes backmost and it makes for a overmuch different environment,” Calandra added.

An Angus Reid Institute canvass released successful March had recovered that “banning those nether 16 from platforms would beryllium good received by the immense mostly of Canadians,” pinch three-quarters (75 per cent) opportunity they support a “full prohibition connected societal media usage for anyone nether the property of 16.”

Among parents pinch kids successful the household, support is besides beardown astatine 70 per cent.

A September 2025 Ipsos canvass has besides recovered an mean of 71 per cent crossed 30 countries judge children nether 14 “should not beryllium capable to entree societal media,” pinch 74 per cent of school-age parents emotion the same.

Twenty-five per cent of those surveyed besides stated that societal media is simply a “top challenge” for young people.

Enforcing the policy, however, could beryllium to beryllium complicated.

Matt Hatfield, an executive head astatine Open Media, said that location are 3 main intends being utilized successful Australia to corroborate users’ ages that could beryllium replicated successful Canada.

“Either providing immoderate benignant of authorities ID aliases an property estimation done by an algorithm, mostly of someone’s appearance, aliases it’s indicators about an account.” Hatfield said.

While the national authorities has been consulting pinch an master advisory group connected online harms legislation, the curate successful complaint has not said whether a societal media prohibition would beryllium included successful the package.

Focus Ontario airs connected Global TV astatine 5:30 p.m. connected Saturday, April 18.

— pinch files from BERITAJA’ Adriana Fallico and BERITAJA