Canada has introduced legislation that could bar children under 16 from having social media accounts unless companies can prove their platforms are safe.
The bill would require platforms to obtain exemptions by demonstrating adequate safeguards. The legislation targets seven categories of harmful content, including material that encourages self-harm, incites violence or hatred, and non-consensual intimate images.
It would establish a Digital Safety Commission of Canada, though exemption criteria will be announced later.
Culture Minister Marc Miller said creating the regulator could take up to 18 months. Canada joins countries including Australia, Brazil and Indonesia in imposing or proposing age-based social media restrictions.
While laws exist in Canada to respond once harm has occurred, there is currently little that requires online services to prevent harm in the first place, the statement said.
The proposed Safe Social Media Act aims to change that by ensuring social media services and AI chatbot providers are responsible for addressing harm before it occurs, it said.
The move places Canada among a growing number of countries seeking to strengthen online protections for children.
Australia remains the only country to have enacted a nationwide law restricting social media access for under-16s, while countries including the UK, France, Greece, Spain and Malaysia have considered, proposed or developed similar measures aimed at improving children’s online safety.
If passed, the Canadian legislation would also place responsibility on websites to protect children from harmful content, including cyberbullying or harassment carried out through digital platforms.
It would make online services more accountable and transparent by introducing new safety requirements for social media services and AI chatbot services, according to the official statement.
It would include an age restriction preventing children under 16 from having accounts on social media services, with a pathway for companies to seek exemptions if they can demonstrate that they have put in place sufficient safeguards for children, it said.
According to the Canadian government’s statement, the new requirements would also place children’s safety at the centre of product design, including measures aimed at reducing young users’ exposure to certain content and high-risk interactions.