Manitoba could have commissioner enforce planned social media ban for kids: Kinew

Premier Wab Kinew says tech companies that don’t comply with banning youth from social media could be fined billions.

WINNIPEG — 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 says details of the ban, announced last month, remain to be worked out and it could be next year before measures are in place.

But he says a commissioner or regulator could work to convince tech companies to get in line or face steep fines.

The legislature is set to break for the summer in less than three weeks and Kinew says drafting the required legislation would take time.

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

Manitoba’s Opposition Progressive Conservatives say Kinew’s NDP government has no real plan and hasn’t said how a provincial ban might be effective when children can use technology that appears to be based in other provinces.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2026

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press