(Quebec) Prime Minister François Legault is brushing aside the idea of imposing a digital majority as in France, where young people under 15 will need parental authorization before being able to register on a social network.
During question period on Thursday, Mr. Legault ridiculed the proposal of the leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, to establish this type of parental control.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon underlined that in addition to France, the State of Florida had recently decided to impose the numerical majority.
The Florida law, which comes into force in January, prohibits those under 14 from opening an account on a social network. Teenagers aged 14 and 15 will need to obtain parental authorization to register on these platforms.
“Are these solutions considered by the Coalition Avenir Québec and will we see them implemented next fall, not in three years? » asked Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon on Thursday.
“Okay, did I just hear the leader of the Parti Québécois tell us: “We should ban social media for children under 14?” Is that what he just said? Did I hear that correctly? Is that his suggestion? » replied Mr. Legault, stunned.
Last month, his minister responsible for social services, Lionel Carmant, declared during a press scrum in parliament that he had “identified social networks as problematic”.
“There have been other things that have been done on social media, either age or edited content. So we ask the experts what can be done. It’s going to be a decision based on science,” he added.
Minister Carmant had previously mentioned the possibility of legislating to regulate the use of screens among young people. Without ever repeating the words of his minister, Mr. Legault had instead asked for the collaboration of parents in order to limit screen time.
During his speech at the Salon Bleu on Thursday, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon recalled the harmful consequences of overuse of screens on young people (on their brains, their social and language skills, etc.).
The PQ leader notably recalled the words of French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who said during a recent visit to Quebec that he feared a “health and educational catastrophe”.