Canada Just Tabled a Social Media Ban for Kids Under 16. Here’s What Happens Next

The federal government has officially introduced its long-awaited online safety legislation (social media ban for kids under 16), tabling Bill C-34, known officially as the Safe Social Media Act, in Parliament today.

The bill would require social media platforms and AI chatbot services (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc) to take responsibility for harmful content on their platforms, with a particular focus on protecting children. It also calls for the creation of a new independent regulator called the Digital Safety Commission of Canada, which would oversee compliance and enforce the rules.

Bill C-34 focuses on seven categories of harmful content including child sexual abuse material, content that induces a child to harm themselves, cyberbullying of children, content inciting violence, hate content, terrorism and extremism content, and non-consensual intimate imagery including deepfakes.

One of the bigger headline items is a minimum age requirement: kids under 16 would be banned from creating accounts on social media platforms, though the regulator could grant exemptions down the road if a platform can demonstrate it has sufficient safeguards in place.

Platforms would also be required to implement safety-focused design features, label AI-generated content, provide blocking and flagging tools, and submit publicly disclosed Digital Safety Plans outlining how they’re addressing risks on their services.

“We have seen the very serious consequences that online harms can have. As technologies evolve, we must ensure our laws keep pace, because parents cannot face these challenges alone. The safety of children cannot be an afterthought. This legislation will introduce stronger responsibilities for online platforms to ensure their services are safe by design and include appropriate measures to keep children safe,” said Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages.

The new Digital Safety Commission would have the power to audit platforms, issue compliance orders, and hand out financial penalties to services that don’t follow the rules.

The government says the bill was shaped by consultations with victims, survivors, civil society groups, Indigenous partners, and industry stakeholders, including a Citizens’ Assembly focused on protecting youth online.

“Working on a quick analysis of Bill C-34, but initial reaction is that this is largely the original Online Harms Act (platforms only) + social media ban for under 16 + Bill S-209 (pornography and age verification) + expansion to AI chatbots + power to Digital Safety Commission,” said University of Ottawa Law Professor, Michael Geist, in reaction to today’s announcement.

Now, before Bill C-34 becomes law, it still needs to pass through several stages in Parliament. That includes debate and votes in the House of Commons, a committee review where experts can weigh in and amendments can be proposed, then the same process again in the Senate, before finally receiving Royal Assent from the Governor General. With Parliament breaking for summer on June 19, the bill won’t see much movement until the fall at the earliest, and depending on opposition or broader parliamentary business, it could take anywhere from several months to well over a year before it actually takes effect.

Unlike the controversial ‘spy bill’, known as Bill C-22, which looks to be in a race to approved before the summer break, this Safe Social Media Act looks like it will need way more time.

The legislation looks to follow in the footsteps of Australia, which has its own social media ban in place for kids under 16. But many have been able to circumvent the ban, by using masks and pictures to bypass authentication measures.