Canada prepares social media ban for children under 16, targets AI chatbots

Ottawa’s next digital-safety test is not whether it can declare social media off-limits for children under 16, but whether it can make platforms enforce that line without creating a new privacy mess. The federal government gave notice Tuesday that it intends to introduce legislation to enact the Digital Safety Act and the Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act, with platforms meeting safety standards potentially eligible for exemptions. The package would also bring AI chatbots under federal safety rules, widening the policy from feeds and apps to the systems now shaping how children talk, search and learn online.

Culture Minister Marc Miller put the stakes in blunt terms, saying: “Kids are dying.” Justice Minister Sean Fraser said the government’s goal is to be responsible in protecting children, while Government House leader Steven MacKinnon called the legislation a priority. The proposal follows Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, which was introduced on Feb. 26, 2024 and later died on the order paper before the 2025 election, leaving Ottawa without a modern enforcement framework. That earlier bill would have created a Digital Safety Commission of Canada, a Digital Safety Ombudsperson of Canada and a Digital Safety Office.

The enforcement question now hangs over the details. If the government allows exemptions for platforms that meet safety standards, the policy could become a regulated-access regime rather than a flat ban, with social platforms needing to prove they can keep under-16 users out while still serving older teens and adults. That is where the privacy and circumvention problems begin: any system strong enough to check age will have to decide how much personal data to collect, and any system too loose could be beaten by borrowed accounts, false birthdays or easy workarounds.

The politics around the idea have moved quickly. At the Liberal Party’s national convention in Montreal in April 2026, members voted in favor of restricting young Canadians’ access to social media platforms and AI chatbots. On April 15, Miller said the government was “very seriously” considering age restrictions, adding that online harms do not stop at 15, 16 or 17. An Angus Reid Institute survey released March 30 found 75% of Canadians supported a full ban on social media use for anyone under 16, a level of backing that has only sharpened since Australia moved to ban social media accounts for those under 16.

Manitoba has already raised the pressure on Ottawa. In April 2026, the provincial government said it plans to ban social media and AI chatbots for children under 16, making Manitoba the first province in Canada to move that way. Children First Canada founder and chief executive Sara Austin welcomed the push for age restrictions but said Ottawa needed to move faster, while some Alberta teens said they supported protection but warned that a ban could be too blunt and too easy to skirt. The federal bill now has to answer the same question every other country has faced: how to protect children online without building a system that is either intrusive, porous or both.