YOUTH ASSEMBLY
ON DIGITAL RIGHTS AND SAFETY

THE ASSEMBLY

We all know that digital technologies are an essential part of life for most young people in Canada. This assembly was created to give Canadian youth the opportunity to help make online spaces safer and better for everyone.

This project is being led by McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy and MASS LBP.

OUR FINAL REPORT

We're excited to announce that the report from the Youth Assembly on Digital Rights and Safety is now available! This report includes a total of 21 recommendations aimed at making the internet safer and better for young Canadians. It also introduces a 'Declaration of Digital Rights,' outlining what the members of the Assembly believe Canadian youth should have the freedom to do and be protected from online.

In June 2023, 35 young people from all across Canada came together to discuss how to improve online safety for themselves and future generations. This Youth Assembly on Digital Rights allowed them to connect with each other, as well as academic experts and policymakers on how to promote the safety, well-being and flourishing of Canadian youth online.

Together, they represent Canada’s diverse regions and cultures. Despite their unique experiences, Assembly members share one uniting factor: they all grew up using – if not saturated with – online technologies. They've experienced the advantages of finding online communities, accessing a wealth of information, and connecting with the world. However, they've also faced the challenges of online bullying, negative effects on mental health, and exploitation.

The recommendations in this report are ambitious and comprehensive. They aim to fundamentally empower youth to have more control over their online experiences. They call for greater transparency from online platforms and stricter regulations to hold them accountable. They also suggest default privacy settings for minors and the enforcement of age verification measures. Importantly, they emphasize the need for young people to have a say in the decisions that shape internet policies.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THEIR DECLARATIONS INCLUDE:

Canadian youth ought to have the freedom to:

  • Equitable access to technology and the internet

  • Safe digital spaces and communities

  • Develop their identities and express themselves online

  • To know and control who sees their data and how it is used

  • Easily access effective and adaptive resources on digital literacy

Canadian youth ought to have the freedom from:

  • Exploitation and predation from individuals, platforms, and corporations in digital spaces

  • Violations of privacy and the non-consensual and/or non-transparent use of our information and data

  • Being targeted by harmful, biased and manipulative algorithms as well as addicting mechanisms and systems that are designed to keep them online

  • The societal pressure, need and expectation to ‘always be online’

HIGHLIGHTS OF THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE:

  • Creation of an arms-length regulatory body, consisting of a diverse set of moderators, including youth, that compels platforms to publish plans on addressing the known harms they cause and ensure that they enact those plans

  • Enforcement of strong and secure identification measures for age assurance with impactful repercussions for misuse or non-use

  • A standard for terms and conditions to ensure they are clear, concise and barrier-free.

  • Establishing mandated “offline periods” for academic settings

  • Ensuring policies are staying up to date with the lived experience of youth by regularly incorporating youth recommendations and voices into policy-making.

  • Provision and promotion of safe resources for youth on sexual health, mental health, and other sensitive subjects in order to assist youth in navigating digital spaces safely.

  • Setting all youth accounts to private by default for anyone under 18.

PARTNERS

FAQS

  • Citizens’ assemblies are well-established processes used globally, including in Canada, to help governments deal with complex policy issues. These assemblies are typically made up of several dozen randomly selected participants who together represent a range of perspectives as well as the demographic profile of a specific jurisdiction. Participation is voluntary.

    Over 600 processes have taken place around the world, helping to create breakthrough solutions with broad buy-in, enable collaborative problem solving, and build public democratic energy & engaged citizens.

    For more information watch this video.

  • Any 18 year old living in Canada is eligible to volunteer to participate. Of the pool of volunteers, participants will be selected by civic lottery .

  • Sign up using the form above and we will send you more information as soon as recruitment is open. Not all volunteers will be selected to participate; however if you are selected, you will be notified by May 19, 2023

  • The Assembly will take place in June 2023 at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg Manitoba.

    Travel, accommodation and food expenses will be covered for all selected participants.

  • Selection will take place by civic lottery in order to ensure participants represent the demographics and diversity of Canada.

    Our aim will be to include representation of the following: urban, suburban, and rural/Northern communities, youth who identify as Indigenous, members of the LGBTQ2+ community, ethno-cultural minorities, and youth across the gender spectrum.

  • This assembly is connected to the work that the McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy is doing on Children and Technology Policy.

    In order for regulation to effectively address the online concerns of youth and for platforms to be accountable to address them, Canadian youth must be directly involved in the policymaking process for a safer internet.

  • Conversations about improving policy for a safer internet are already happening. In fact, there have been three Citizens’ Assemblies for Democratic Expression between 2020-2022 commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Heritage to bring together adults from across the country to learn about the issue and share their recommendations.

    At the conclusion of the Youth Assembly the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy will release a public report outlining the process and recommendations of the Assembly and hold a hybrid in-person and virtual roundtable event to discuss the findings and policy recommendations with policy makers, academic experts, and government officials.

  • This project is being led by McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy and citizens’ assembly experts MASS LBP.

  • If you are 18 years old, consider volunteering to participate in the assembly. Sign up using the form above and we will send you more information as soon as recruitment is open.

    If you are not 18 years old please tell the 18-year-olds in your life about this project and encourage them to volunteer to participate.

Let's work together to create a better digital world for everyone!