Canada Is Set To Ban Teen Social Media Accounts. Here’s What’s Happening

From Canberra to Ottawa, governments are moving fast to pull teenagers off social media.

Canada has introduced legislation banning children under 16 from accessing social media platforms, making it the latest country to act on mounting pressure from parents, advocates, and a series of real-world tragedies that can no longer be ignored.

What Pushed Canada to Propose a Social Media Ban?

The momentum intensified after a deadly mass school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, in February, where the 18-year-old suspect reportedly used ChatGPT to discuss gun violence months before the attack, killing eight people including five young children.

Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller told reporters that addressing online harms had become a government priority because, in his words, "kids are dying", according to the BBC.

What Is Canada Proposing?

Canada's Safe Social Media Act, or Bill C-34, which introduces the Digital Safety Act, targets seven categories of harmful content including material that bullies children, foments hatred, or incites violence.

It would establish a new Digital Safety Commission of Canada and set maximum penalties at 10 million Canadian dollars or three percent of a company's gross global revenue, whichever is greater.

How Is Canada's Approach Different From Australia's?

Unlike Australia's outright social media ban, Canada's law includes an exemption clause.

Tech firms can sidestep the ban if they demonstrate policies to minimise harm to minors. Advocates like Sara Austin of Children First Canada have called this a positive incentive, arguing it encourages platforms to improve safety standards for all users.

Has Australia's Teen Social Media Ban Worked?

Not entirely. A recent survey by the Australian government found around 70 percent of parents reported their children were still on social media after the ban took effect.

Australia has since opened five investigations into alleged non-compliance, including against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.

Which Other Countries Are Moving in the Same Direction?

The social media ban conversation is now global. The UK is expected to announce a ban for under-16s imminently, while Greece has set a ban for under-15s.

France and New Zealand have already enacted comparable legislation. Canada's proposal arrives ahead of the G7 summit in France, where child online safety is firmly on the agenda.

Is There Any Serious Opposition to Canada's Proposed Law?

Several free speech groups have argued online harms should be addressed through Canada's existing criminal code rather than new legislation, warning the bill's broad definition of harmful content risks expanding censorship.

The era of unregulated teen social media access is ending, one country at a time. Whether Canada's exemption clause makes its law more effective than Australia's remains the critical question.

(With inputs from yMedia)