Canada proposes bill to ban social media for children under 16, with tech firm workarounds

Canada has introduced new legislation, the Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34), aimed at restricting social media access for children under 16 years old. The bill, tabled on June 10, 2026, by Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller, seeks to enhance online safety for minors by requiring social media platforms to implement age-appropriate protections and, generally, prevent those under 16 from creating accounts.

A key provision of this proposed law allows tech firms to obtain exemptions from the ban if they can demonstrate that they have sufficient safeguards in place to protect younger users. The legislation also establishes a new independent body, the Digital Safety Commission of Canada, which will be responsible for enforcing these regulations and evaluating platforms for potential exemptions.

Additionally, the bill mandates that social media services swiftly remove highly harmful content, such as child sexual abuse material, and introduces new responsibilities for AI chatbot services to mitigate harmful communications and implement crisis protocols. Officials anticipate the bill could take approximately a year to pass and up to 18 months to fully establish the new digital regulator.