Email your federal MP about Bill C-412
Here's how Canadians can support legislation that protects children online
In this post, I’m sharing a ready-to-use email template to help you reach out to federal MPs and ask them to support Bill C-412. Titled the "Protection of Minors in the Digital Age Act," this private member’s bill was introduced by Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner on September 16, 2024.
The bill would require social media platforms to safeguard young users and address online risks to their health and well-being, including limiting exposure to the promotion and marketing of controlled substances, alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and products or services relating to gambling or pornography.
By using this email template to contact your MP, you can play a part in pushing for meaningful protections.
Here’s how to find your MP’s email address by constituency: Parliament of Canada Current Constituencies
Here’s some text you can use when you email them:
Dear _____________,
I am a constituent in the __________ riding and am reaching out to encourage you to take decisive steps to protect children in digital spaces by selecting Private Member's Bill C-412 for debate.
I am deeply concerned that Snapchat has become a drug marketplace, where deadly counterfeit prescription pills are accessible for delivery to children.
Currently, parents have no way of receiving alerts when minors use search terms that could indicate dangerous behaviours. Such notifications are not only technologically possible; they are also morally essential.
While Snapchat’s features—disappearing messages and geolocation—make it an ideal environment for illicit sellers, other platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Discord, WhatsApp, and Telegram also offer avenues for these activities through their unique features.
Two bills in Parliament, Bill C-63 and Bill C-412, aim to tackle online harms. Both have merits, but only one truly addresses the critical issue of protecting kids from drug dealers: Bill C-412.
Bill C-63 takes a more general approach to safety, focusing on hate speech and child pornography but containing no specific language aimed at protecting children from illicit substances online. In contrast, Bill C-412 directly addresses the marketing and promotion of controlled substances to minors.
Bill C-412 also explicitly requires platforms to offer parental controls, enabling parents to monitor activity and set boundaries. Bill C-63 places no such requirements on social media platforms. Parents want and need to be involved in the protection of their children online.
Most importantly, Bill C-412, unlike C-63, includes private messaging and groups in its scope, closing the loopholes drug sellers often exploit to reach children. Direct messages and invitation-only groups are precisely the features that enable these transactions.
Bill C-412’s purpose, “to provide a safe online environment for minors by requiring operators to take meaningful steps to protect them and address online risks to their health and well-being,” is a critical step toward addressing the needs of families while also holding platforms accountable for creating safe digital environments.
Are you willing to take action to help safeguard children in our community?
Are you willing to collaborate with parents on this important issue?
I urge you to ensure that Bill C-412 moves forward in the legislative process.
In urgent need of your support,
___________________
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