Canada tables Bill C-34 to ban social media for under-16s and regulate AI

The Canadian government has introduced Bill C-34, a new digital safety bill that would prohibit social media use for children under the age of 16. The legislation includes exemptions for platforms that meet specific safety standards and aims to enhance the safety of artificial intelligence chatbots by establishing a new digital regulator to set compliance requirements.

The proposal was unveiled in parliament weeks after families affected by a recent mass shooting sued OpenAI. The plaintiffs alleged that the company failed to warn police about threats made on ChatGPT, suggesting the platform was aware the alleged killer had been planning the attack. This legal pressure coincides with broader government concerns that voluntary action by digital services has not kept pace with the scale and severity of online harms.

Government officials stated that online harms are shaped not only by individual behaviour but also by how digital services are designed. The bill cites algorithmic recommendation systems, engagement-based feeds, autoplay, and endless scrolling as features that can amplify harmful content and increase exposure for young users. Consequently, the legislation mandates that digital services identify risks, implement age-appropriate design features, and make user guidelines available.

Under the proposed rules, platforms would be required to remove content that sexually victimises a child or involves the non-consensual sharing of intimate images within 24 hours of being flagged. Services must also provide tools such as blocking and flagging mechanisms and submit publicly disclosed digital safety plans. These measures follow Australia’s enactment of the world’s first social media ban for children under 16 in December, which led to the deactivation of nearly 5 million teenage accounts within a month.

International interest in similar restrictions is growing, with France, Denmark, and Poland considering tighter rules, while Greece announced plans to ban access for those under 15 from January 2027. Canadian government officials estimate it could take a year for Bill C-34 to pass and 18 months to establish the digital regulator once enacted. Prime Minister Mark Carney holds a slim majority in Parliament, which is due to break for summer recess soon.