Manitoba is looking at having a commissioner or regulator enforce its proposed ban on social media and artificial intelligence chatbots for children under 16.

Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday the commissioner or regulator would work to convince tech companies to get in line, and steep fines would follow if that advice goes unheeded.

“If you have a willing dance partner, so to speak there, then it can be a back-and-forth about how we’re going to improve the technology so that those harms are not being visited on young children,” he told reporters.

Kinew announced last month there would be a ban to prevent children from certain online platforms. He made it clear Wednesday that a lot of details have yet to be worked out.

Drafting legislation would take time, and it could be next year before measures are in place, the premier said. The legislature is set to break for the summer in less than three weeks.

Federal Culture Minister Marc Miller said last month that Ottawa is seriously considering a national social media ban for children, and some other provinces are also looking at the idea.

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Some critics have said the federal government is best positioned to enact a ban.

Kinew said he’s willing to work with Ottawa and other provinces, but Manitoba has jurisdiction in areas including consumer protection.

One possible step, he said, could see tech companies required to have protection for children included in their terms of service with customers.

Rules surrounding business practices could also be involved.

“There’s been some reporting that some platforms appear to know that it’s young kids using their product and tailor the algorithm to kids … that seems like an unfair business practice,” Kinew said.

Also to be worked out is how a provincial ban might stop children from passing themselves off as older or living elsewhere. People can use a virtual private network, or VPN, to appear to live in another province or use someone else’s information to set up a social media account.

An Ohio man was recently arrested on charges of luring a 10-year-old Manitoba girl into sending explicit images. An affidavit filed for an arrest warrant in the case says the girl had used an older relative’s cellphone and created a Snapchat account.

A provincial ban could simply make adults more alert to the impact of social media on children, Kinew said.
The Opposition Progressive Conservatives accused the NDP premier of making a splashy announcement with no firm plan to enact it.

“He wants to get out of the gate, steal the limelight, pretend like he has a plan,” said Tory Leader Obby Khan.

The Tories asked questions on the topic in the legislature Wednesday on behalf of a group of Grade 9 students watching from the public gallery.

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