Premier David Eby says new account control measures for young Instagram users introduced Tuesday by social media giant Meta are the 含羞草研究社渕inimum含羞草研究社� expected of tech companies to keep kids safe online.

The parent company of Instagram says users in Canada and elsewhere under 18 will have their accounts set to private by default starting Tuesday, restricting who can send messages, among other parental controls and settings.

Speaking at an unrelated event Tuesday, Eby says the province began talks with social media companies after threatening legislation that would put big tech companies on the hook for 含羞草研究社渟ignificant potential damages含羞草研究社� if they were found negligent in failing to keep kids safe from online predators.

Eby says the case of Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old from Prince George, B.C., who took his own life last year after being targeted by a predator on Snapchat, was 含羞草研究社渉orrific and totally preventable.含羞草研究社�

He says social media apps are 含羞草研究社渘othing special,含羞草研究社� and should be held to the same child safety standards as anyone who operates a place that invites young people, whether it含羞草研究社檚 an amusement park, a playground or an online platform.

In a progress report released Tuesday about the province含羞草研究社檚 engagement with big tech companies including Google, Meta, TikTok, Spapchat and X, formerly known as Twitter, the provincial government says the companies are implementing changes, including a 含羞草研究社渢rusted flagger含羞草研究社� option to quickly remove intimate images.