The Liberal government has introduced legislation that would impose age restrictions on social media platforms and new rules for AI chatbots.
The federal government introduced the Safe Social Media Act, Bill C-34, in Ottawa on Wednesday (June 10).
The proposed bill includes an age restriction preventing children under the age of 16 from having accounts on social media services. It also aims to include measures to reduce children’s exposure to “certain content and high-risk interactions.”
A new Digital Safety Act for social media services will also include a legislative and regulatory framework for user-uploaded livestreaming and adult content services, and for certain AI chatbot services.
Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller said social media and AI chatbots will have a responsibility to protect children from harmful content, including content that promotes self-harm, sexual exploitation, violence, hatred, bullying, and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
“Social media services will have to remove – within 24 hours – content that sexually victimizes a child or shares intimate content without consent, including sexually explicit deepfakes,” he said.
“AI chatbot services will be required to mitigate the risk of chatbots communicating harmful content that have clear protocols in place when a user expresses an intention to harm themselves or others.”
Miller said Canadians have seen the tragic consequences of online, both around the world and at home, “notably in Tumbler Ridge.” He said the numbers and statistics are “bone chilling.”
“Behind every one of these stats is a child, a family, and a life.”
Nine people were left dead in the northeastern B.C. community of Tumbler Ridge in February after a mass shooting. The suspected shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, had her ChatGPT account shut down by parent company OpenAI in June 2025 after “detecting a violation.”
OpenAI chose not to inform authorities of the concerning account at the time, but instead reached out to the B.C. government two days after the fatal shootings for a contact for the RCMP.
Families of Tumbler Ridge victims are now suing OpenAI in California. The company issued an apology in April.
Miller said over the past few months he’s met with parents, doctors and children to discuss how to better protect children from online dangers.
He said that thanks to recent changes to the Criminal Code to prosecute the harm once it’s occurred to sue people, “but the damage is done.”
“This is unacceptable. We’re failing our children. Enough is enough.”
He said “basic protection” needs to be put in place, “so every child in this country can be safe on platforms they use every day.”
Lianna McDonald, executive director with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, said that every year her organization receives approximately 30,000 reports that come into cybertip.ca. Since 2020, there has been a 300 per cent increase in online luring of children. The organization also issues between 10,000 and 20,000 removal notices a day of child sexual abuse material on the internet.
“We have kids as young as 10, 11 years old, coming in to us in crisis. We have families that are unravelling that don’t know how to protect their children, and it’s not because parents are failing, it’s because they are outmatched.”
McDonald called it the “deliberate manufacturing of online spaces that put profit over and above safety.” She added that at the same time, children are being put in spaces, “equally, that we would expect adults to be within.”