Canada proposes social media ban for under-16s, AI safety rules

Canada has moved to confront two fast-changing digital risks in one bill: children’s access to social media and the safety of AI chatbots. Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, would bar accounts for users under 16, create a new federal enforcement body, and impose rules on services that can shape what young people see, share and believe online.

The legislation was introduced in the House of Commons on June 10 and would enact both the Digital Safety Act and the Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act. Ottawa says the new Digital Safety Commission of Canada would police compliance, while regulated services would have to identify harms, build mitigation measures, provide blocking and flagging tools, label synthetic content and publish digital safety plans. Companies that fail to comply could face penalties equal to 3% of global revenue or C$10 million, whichever is greater.

How platforms would verify age remains one of the biggest open questions. CBC reported that the bill does not yet spell out how companies must prove a user is under 16, while exemption criteria for platforms with sufficient safeguards would be set later in regulation. Those exemptions would not apply to adult-content services. Officials have also said the new regulator could take about 18 months to set up after the law becomes effective, a timeline that suggests much of the real-world impact will depend on implementation rather than the bill’s text alone.

The public-health case is central to the proposal. Canadian Heritage says one in four youth aged 12 to 17 have reported cyberbullying, and that young people who experience online victimization are more likely to report poor mental health outcomes, including suicidal ideation. That framing echoes the broader argument from Minister Marc Miller, who said social media platforms and AI chatbots are built to capture attention and can contribute to anxiety, isolation and depression among young Canadians. Australia’s under-16 restrictions took effect on December 10, 2025, making it the first country to ban social media for children under 16 and providing Ottawa with a live international test case.

The bill has already drawn sharply different reactions from child-safety advocates, academics and industry. UNICEF Canada’s Sevaun Palvetzian welcomed the move but said it needs a duty to consult young people. Children First Canada founder Sara Austin said the proposal shifts responsibility to platforms to prove they meet child-safety standards. Google Canada said it is committed to working with the federal government on higher safety standards, while Dr. Charlotte Moore Hepburn of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children called the measure a response to serious parental concerns. Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa said the amount of uncertainty left to future regulations and the new commission was astonishing.

Bill C-34 also sits inside a broader policy reset. Ottawa had introduced Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, in 2024, reconvened its expert advisory group on online safety in March, and unveiled Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All on June 4. Together, those moves suggest Canada is trying to write one governance framework for the social networks children use and the AI systems that are rapidly entering daily life, with other democracies likely to watch closely.