Canada’s Kids Social Media Ban Hides a Bigger Secret. One Person Could Control the Entire Internet

The federal government’s social media ban for kids in Bill C-34 is grabbing all the headlines, but University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist says the more important story is what else the bill creates: a powerful new government body that could have more influence over the daily online lives of Canadians than almost any other regulator in the country.

In a breakdown of what Bill C-34 means, Geist says the Digital Safety Commission of Canada, established under Bill C-34, would have sweeping authority over social media platforms, AI chatbots, and potentially other online services. He says its powers are so broad that it essentially becomes a super-regulator of the internet.

Here’s what that means in practice. Any adult wanting to comment on Reddit or post a photo on Facebook would first need to verify their age by submitting government ID or undergoing a facial age scan. It’s the Commission that decides exactly how that process works, what counts as acceptable verification, and what privacy protections are required. The bill doesn’t define any of those standards itself, it just hands that power to the Commission to figure out later.

The Commission would also have the power to order platforms to remove certain content within hours, impose fines of up to $10 million or three percent of a company’s global revenue, compel testimony, and even remotely access a company’s systems. It can hold hearings in secret whenever it decides that’s in the public interest, and it isn’t bound by the normal rules of evidence that would apply in a court.

One of the more eyebrow-raising details Geist flags is a transitional provision that allows a single cabinet-appointed chair to act as the entire Commission until a full roster of members is in place, meaning one person could be setting age verification standards, ordering content removed, and handing out fines all at once.

Geist also points out that Bill C-34 eliminated the independent Digital Safety Ombudsperson that was included in the previous version of the legislation, Bill C-63. That office was meant to advocate for users separately from the regulator. Bill C-34 folds that role into the Commission itself, creating a situation where the same body can fine a platform millions of dollars and also claim to be advocating for that platform’s users at the same time.

“Bill C-34 creates the most powerful Internet regulator the country has known,” Geist writes, “and does so before anyone can fully know how that power will be used.”

Following in the footsteps of Canada, the UK announced today it will also ban social media for kids under 16, to “give kids their childhood back,” with their ban to also include an overnight curfew to stop doom scrolling for those under 18.