Ottawa/Vancouver (Anja Karadeglija The Canadian Press/Kyla Lee Acumen Law) – The Liberal government’s new online safety legislation would force social media to block access for kids under 16, though platforms will be able to obtain an exemption if they put sufficient safeguards in place.
Bill C-34, introduced Wednesday in the House of Commons, would also regulate the companies behind AI chatbots by imposing on them a duty to act responsibly. That includes measures to lower the risk of chatbots communicating harmful content and putting in place crisis intervention protocols for cases involving self-harm, suicide or violence.
“The measures in this bill represent, in my view, the basic expectation that parents and Canadians (have) for keeping their kids safe online. I believe all parties should agree on the importance of these minimum safeguards,” Culture Minister Marc Miller said at a press conference.
The bill doesn’t prescribe a specific method to verify age. In response to a question about what methods the government is looking at, Miller said there will “be a back and forth with platforms as to what protects people’s privacy and what is adequate and sufficient in the circumstances.”
Miller said the government decided not to block kids from using chatbots because chatbots are different from social media.
“They play a function and a role that can be very damaging towards kids, but can also play an important function in the educational system and in the AI strategy that we are putting forward,” Miller said. He added that “we are going to have keep a close eye on it.”
The bill will include adult content services that focus on user-shared content. The government did not give examples or specify whether they will cover sites such as OnlyFans and Pornhub.
Platforms that offer adult content would not be able to obtain an exemption from age restriction.
Background materials provided by the government said the bill will cover traditional social media services like Facebook and X. It will also apply to “public-facing conversational chatbots that can mimic human-like relationships.”
The legislation would create a new regulator, the Digital Safety Commission of Canada. The government said in briefing materials it would be an independent body whose members would be appointed by cabinet.
The bill covers seven types of harmful content, including content that induces a child to harm themselves, content that incites violence and foments hatred and non-consensual intimate content.
Social media platforms will have to remove two types of content within 24 hours — content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor and non-consensual intimate images.
Platforms will also have to “apply labels to synthetically generated content,” the government said in a press release.
“While laws exist to respond once harm has happened, there is currently very little that requires online services to prevent harm in the first place,” the release said.
“The Safe Social Media Act aims to change that by ensuring that social media services and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are responsible for addressing harm before it occurs.”
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Niki Sharma, Attorney General, and Rick Glumac, Minister of State for AI and New Technologies, have released the following statements in response to the tabling of Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, in federal Parliament:
Sharma said:
“People in B.C., especially children and young people, are being exposed to real and growing harm online. Our government has taken leadership action, including passing and strengthening the Intimate Images Protection Act, to better support people facing that harm. But as technology continues to rapidly evolve, we have been clear: A strong national safety standard is urgently needed, and self-regulation by platforms is not keeping people safe.
“The introduction of the Safe Social Media Act is a promising step toward addressing the harms enabled or amplified by social media and AI chatbot platforms and toward better protecting youth online – but we will continue to advocate for a national reporting threshold.
“I’m encouraged the proposed legislation introduced includes many of the elements that I asked for in my discussions with my federal counterparts, including age-appropriate design standards or restrictions, and oversight mechanisms to ensure and enforce platform compliance.
“While I’m grateful these measures are included, I remained concerned about the timelines for implementation and it does fall short of our government’s ask for a clear national reporting threshold for platforms, particularly when it comes to identifying and reporting credible threats of violence or plans for harm.
“We cannot afford to get this wrong or waste any more time. B.C. has already been the site of too many tragedies involving young children, from Tumbler Ridge to Amanda Todd, Carson Cleland and Maddy Croswell. Their parents have turned their grief into advocacy and have been calling for urgent action so they can help make sure no one else has to suffer what they have.
“Their stories influenced our asks of the federal government, and we will be doing everything we can to ensuring their feedback is incorporated by Ottawa as we closely monitor both the legislation and the regulations that follow.
“This act needs to be passed as quickly as possible, and B.C., along with other provinces and territories, must have a seat at the table as the federal government works out what exactly the guidelines will be and how the new regulator will be able to enforce compliance.
“B.C. will continue to insist on clear, enforceable expectations for platforms, particularly when it comes to identifying and reporting credible threats of violence or plans for harm as may have occurred in Tumbler Ridge. We remain committed to working alongside parents and families in B.C. to make sure their concerns and feedback are reflected in federal action.
“Technology should open doors, not put people at risk. We owe it to families, to young people and to communities across B.C. to act now to make the online world as safe as it can be.”
Glumac said:
“While emerging technologies are important tools to improve the way we learn and the way we work, nothing is more important than people’s safety, particularly for our young people. Responsible innovation means building technology that earns trust and is developed with safety and privacy at its core, so it supports families and communities and keeps pace with the real-world risks people are facing.
“B.C. has been clear about the need for strong national guardrails, and we’re looking forward to hearing more details and working together to ensure new policies work for people in B.C.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2026.
