Protecting Online Youth
Canada Introduces Digital Safety Bill Regulating AI and Restricting Social Media for Under-16s
Key Points
Justice Minister Marc Miller said the bill is motivated by the way platforms and AI “are designed to capture attention,” and warned they “have become a source of anxiety, isolation, depression and a range of other mental health challenges” for young Canadians.
Canadian officials said timelines could be lengthy: it “could take a year for the bill to pass and 18 months to set up the digital regulator once it does,” according to a government technical briefing.
Ahead of Canada’s rollout, Australia’s experience was cited: after its under-16 social media ban was introduced, social media companies “collectively deactivated the accounts of nearly 5 million teenagers.”
A pediatric policy expert described young people’s online engagement as an unusually harmful test environment, saying: “Young people's engagement with the online world is the largest fully unregulated clinical trial affecting human development in the history of human civilization.”
Canada introduced Bill C-34, the *Safe Social Media Act*, on June 10, 2026 — legislation that would ban children under 16 from social media unless platforms prove their apps are safe. Justice Minister Marc Miller said platforms and AI tools
The bill creates a new Digital Safety Commission to set and enforce rules. Platforms that break the rules face fines of up to 3% of global revenue or C$10 million, whichever is higher, according to Reuters. But officials warned the road ahead is long: the bill could take 12 months to pass, and another 18 months to stand up the regulator.
What the Bill Actually Does to Platforms
Under Bill C-34, social media companies cannot let children under 16 create accounts unless they first prove their platforms meet government safety standards. The bill covers seven categories of harmful content. It also brings AI chatbots under regulation for the first time, according to WCPO. Platforms must remove sexually explicit deepfakes or child abuse content within 24 hours of being reported.
The bill shifts the burden of proof onto platforms, not parents. Sara Austin of Children First Canada said that is the right move.
A Tumbler Ridge Shooting Drove the AI Crackdown
The bill's AI provisions trace directly to a tragedy. In February 2026, a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., killed nine people. Investigators found the shooter had chatted with AI chatbots about the attack beforehand. OpenAI had flagged the account for "violations" and shut it down — but never alerted police, according to KSBY.
That gap in reporting is now at the center of the bill. The legislation would require AI companies to report serious threats to authorities. A pediatric policy expert described the current moment starkly, saying young people's online engagement is
Australia's Ban Wiped Out 4.7 Million Teen Accounts
Canada is watching Australia closely. Australia's under-16 social media ban took effect on December 10, 2025. Within weeks, social media companies had deactivated 4.7 million accounts belonging to teenagers, according to ConsumerConnect. Australia's maximum fine was C$33.2 million — a benchmark Canada used to shape its own penalty structure.
The scale of that enforcement gave Canadian officials confidence that a ban can work in practice. But critics warn that bans can push teens onto less regulated, harder-to-monitor platforms instead. An estimated 2.5 million Canadians aged 8 to 15 would be directly affected by the new rules.
Critics Say Key Details Are Still Missing
Not everyone is convinced the bill is ready. University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist called it an
UNICEF Canada CEO Sevaun Palvetzian praised the bill's direction, saying it is
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