The Canadian government has introduced a digital safety bill that would ban children under the age of 16 from using social media, unless platforms meet specific safety standards.
The proposed law, unveiled on Wednesday (10 June), follows similar action in Australia, which late last year became the first country to introduce a nationwide restriction on social media use by young people.
Under the Canadian proposal, companies that fail to comply could face penalties of up to 3% of global revenue or C$10 million, whichever is higher.
The legislation also aims to regulate artificial intelligence systems, with plans to establish a dedicated digital regulator responsible for setting safety standards for AI chatbots.
A government official said the goal was to ensure online technologies are safer and better aligned with the needs of young users.
Marc Miller, Canada’s Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, said social media platforms and AI tools were contributing to growing mental health pressures on children.
“Social media platforms and AI chatbots are designed to capture attention. They do not support healthy childhood development and have become a source of anxiety, isolation, depression and a range of other mental health challenges for many young Canadians,” Marc Miller said.
“This legislation will provide a safer environment for young Canadians and empower them to connect in person, build friendships, focus in school, and learn real-world skills so they can thrive,” he added.
The bill comes weeks after families affected by one of Canada’s deadliest mass shootings filed a lawsuit against OpenAI. The legal action alleges the company was aware of the alleged attacker’s plans through interactions on ChatGPT but failed to alert authorities.
OpenAI has not responded to requests for comment.
Technology companies have begun reacting to the proposed law.
A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, said the company was committed to working with the federal government to improve safety standards so that parents have greater confidence and control over their children’s online experiences.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it was reviewing the details of the legislation.
“Like lawmakers, we want safe, positive online experiences for young people, and we are assessing the details of the Digital Safety Act,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Elon Musk’s platform X and Snapchat are yet to respond to requests for comment.
Canada’s move comes amid a broader push by governments to restrict children’s access to social media. France, Denmark and Poland are reportedly considering tighter rules, while Greece has announced plans to ban access for those under 15 from January 2027.
In Australia, millions of teenage accounts were reportedly deactivated in the weeks following the introduction of similar legislation.
Government officials said it could take around a year for the bill to pass through Parliament, with a further 18 months required to establish the digital regulator if the law is approved.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government holds only a slim majority in Parliament, which is expected to break for its summer recess soon.
Brett Caraway, an associate professor at the University of Toronto specialising in technology and privacy, said Canada’s proposals go further than those introduced in Australia.
Canada’s policy “would entail a more complex set of platform obligations”, Brett Caraway said, adding that it aimed to redesign the social media system to make it safer for children.
“Its aim is a redesign of the social media ecosystem to make it safer for children, whereas Australia’s law is about restricting access to the ecosystem,” Brett Caraway said.
“The scope is also broader since the Canadian law would tackle AI as well,” he added.
Experts have raised questions about how such restrictions would be enforced in practice, particularly around verifying users’ ages without compromising privacy.
Governments introducing similar measures have faced technical and legal challenges in ensuring platforms can reliably distinguish between adult and underage users while safeguarding personal data.
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