OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — The Liberal government of Canada is looking at potentially banning social media access for children under the age of 16, following the lead of many European nations. However, some have questioned whether such a move is being used as a guise to further control the internet.

Canada’s Culture Minister Marc Miller, who is a close friend of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said that the Liberals are “very seriously” looking at implementing a social media ban in the near future.

His comments come after members of the Liberal Party voted in their convention a non-binding resolution calling for the ban.

“I respect and acknowledge the work that’s been done and the concern where that policy proposal came from,” Miller said to reporters on April 15.

Miller claimed that the “grassroots have spoken” on the matter, and that “it’s clear that a ban or a moratorium on social media by kids, who we do need to protect, can be an important element, but it can’t be the only one.”

“I do think it could be an important layer, but it has to be seen as that, and not as the answer to everything. Online harms don’t end as soon as you turn 15, or 16, or 17,” he said.

Miller’s suggestion that a social media ban may not be enough to combat “online harms” comes as he has hinted that new bills regulating the internet are on the horizon.

Social media bans have been implemented in Australia. European nations such as France are considering doing the same.

Because the Liberals now have a majority government, the likelihood of a social media ban for children is very high.

Social media addiction is a real issue – even U.S. courts have ruled that it can have negative effects on children. A jury found Meta and Google liable for $6 million in damages in a landmark case which alleged that popular social media apps are designed to be addictive.

READ: Liberals consider another attempt to introduce a bill regulating ‘online hate’

Social media ban about ‘mass surveillance,’ says Maxime Bernier

It appears that Marc Miller’s idea of a social media ban has the general support of both the Conservative Party and the NDP. However, not everyone is keen on the idea, at least in how it could mean further internet regulation for all Canadians.

Maxime Bernier, leader of the People’s Party of Canada (PPC), warned that Liberals wanting to ban social media for those under 16 is really about “mass surveillance.”

In an X post earlier this week, Bernier expressed his view that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government will use such a law to “control” people.

“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,” he warned.

“They want to force you to provide official identification simply to open a social media account. They want to create a national database cataloging every Canadian’s digital identity.”

The Liberal government has been flirting with the idea of creating a national digital ID for some time, which could become a part of any social media ban. Combined with recent censorship laws, such as Bill C-22, which would allow law enforcement the “unprecedented power” to monitor and search Canadians’ online digital activity without a warrant, that could represent the makings of a police “state,” warned Bernier.

“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,” noted Bernier.

Bernier noted how Canada’s Criminal Code already 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,” he observed.

Bernier said that when it comes to online content, it is parents who are the “first line of defense.” They, not the government, should be the ones deciding on what their children do online.

“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,” he said.

The Liberal Party under Carney is fully pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia, anti-Christian, and pro-LGBT.

It has also introduced many controversial bills on internet censorship, including Bill C-9. This bill has the potential to criminalize religious expression and belief when quoting parts of the Bible, including those about homosexuality and gender.