In Australia, it's not even certain the so-called ban on social media can even be achieved. But, the US social media companies have already adapted their targeting.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/04/australia-social-media-ban-under-16s-three-month-review

I've come across the theory from others online that advertising and AI companies are increasingly unable to identify real people to justify their ad pricing for real eyeballs. Therefore, these safety pushes to restrict social media use for children under the age of 16 (or whatever arbitrary figure) are actually terrifying psychological gambits by US AI and social media companies to get caring parents to identify their children as real children to assist with the ad targeting.

With the discovery by parents and kids out of San Franscisco that their so-called safety group is actually funded by the wolf itself, Canadians have to be wondering if we're caught up in the same psychological operations.

In mid-March, organizers for child safety groups across the country received emails from an organization called the Parents & Kids Safe AI Coalition, asking if they would endorse its list of policy priorities. The listed principles for AI regulation included vague but fairly uncontroversial suggestions such as age verification, parental controls, and a prohibition on targeting advertising toward kids. “We believe it is important to demonstrate broad, visible support from parents, educators, community groups, and child-advocacy organizations to make clear that families expect action on AI this year,” some of the emails said.

What many of them did not state was that the Parents & Kids Safe AI Coalition was funded entirely by OpenAI, the world’s most popular AI chatbot company. The principles it was asking nonprofits to endorse mirrored policy proposals in a child safety bill OpenAI co-sponsored and filed as a ballot initiative this year, and is now hoping to get the California Legislature to adopt (opens in new tab).