Social Media Platforms, App Stores at Odds Over Who Should Enforce Social Media Bans

A teenage girl uses her phone to access social media in Sydney, on Nov. 8, 2024. The Canadian Press/AP- Rick Rycroft

As countries including Canada move toward social media bans in an attempt to keep youths safe online, tech companies are in a tug of war over who should be the gatekeepers.

Executives from Snapchat and Meta, the owner of Instagram, Facebook and Threads, have argued it should be app stores rather than platforms charged with verifying the ages of users when they try to add a platform to their phones.