Isabella Coronado Doria MPP '25 on Canada鈥檚 Need for Stronger Online Safety Laws | Policy Magazine

July 20, 2025 | MPP 25 Isabella Coronado Doria wrote an opinion piece for Policy Magazine addressing the urgent need for stronger regulation of digital platforms to protect children鈥檚 mental health and safety. The article highlights the tragic story of Sewell Setzer, a 14-year-old who developed a harmful virtual relationship with a chatbot, leading to his suicide and a lawsuit against the platform for inadequate safety measures. Isabella connects this personal tragedy to the broader issue of how social media and digital platforms are intentionally designed to maximize user engagement through addictive features, often at the expense of young people鈥檚 well-being. She critiques Canada鈥檚 lack of comprehensive online safety laws compared to recent legislative advances in the US and UK, urging Canadian policymakers to learn from these examples. The article calls for the federal government to implement strong legal duties for tech companies to protect children, promote collaboration internationally, and prioritize minimizing digital harms to prevent further tragedies like Sewell鈥檚.