SURREY, B.C. — British Columbia is moving to restrict the use of cellphones in schools as part of measures that Premier David Eby says will help protect young people from online threats.

Eby says the government will also launch a service to remove intimate images from the internet and “pursue predators,” as well as introducing legislation to hold social media companies accountable for harms they have caused. 

A statement from the province says all schools will have policies in place to restrict students’ classroom cellphone use by the start of the next school year.

It says it will work with school districts to make sure that happens.

The statement also says two new services will start next week to help people stop or prevent distribution of explicit images of them without their consent and to pursue damages from the predators. 

Attorney General Niki Sharma says the services will help people, especially young adults, get their private images taken down from websites.

More coming.

The Canadian Press