The federal government has introduced Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, which would prohibit children under 16 from having social media accounts and establish new safety requirements for social media platforms and AI chatbots operating in Canada.

The legislation introduces three core duties for regulated services: a Duty to Protect Children, a Duty to Act Responsibly, and a Duty to Make Certain Content Inaccessible. That last duty would require platforms to make inaccessible any content that sexually exploits children or shares intimate images without consent, including deepfakes. A new independent Digital Safety Commission would be established to enforce the rules, audit compliance, and handle user complaints.

Beyond the age restriction, platforms would be required to identify and mitigate risks on their services, implement safety-focused design features, label AI-generated content, and provide users with tools to block and flag harmful material. AI chatbot services face their own tailored requirements, including transparency around how they respond when users express intent to harm themselves or others.

The bill targets seven categories of harmful content, including child sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, content that induces self-harm, hate speech, incitement to violence, terrorism content, and intimate content shared without consent.

"The safety of children cannot be an afterthought," said Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture. "This legislation will introduce stronger responsibilities for online platforms to ensure their services are safe by design and include appropriate measures to keep children safe."

Reaction from Canadian teens has been mixed. While some welcome the intent behind the legislation, many are skeptical it will work in practice. "Kids are always going to find their way onto the internet," Toronto high school student Xavier Carr told CBC News. Others pointed to Australia, where teens have already found workarounds like VPNs and using parents' identification. Parents, meanwhile, have largely welcomed the bill, though some are calling for more details on enforcement.

The legislation is still before parliament and has not yet passed into law.