- Canada introduced legislation on June 11 that would prohibit users younger than 16 from accessing social‑media services.
The bill, now before the House of Commons, requires platforms to verify age before allowing account creation. It does not yet specify enforcement mechanisms, and it leaves open whether existing parental‑control tools would satisfy the requirement.
If passed, the rule would affect the biggest services—Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube—by forcing them to block access for minors. Proponents say it could curb documented harms such as anxiety, sleep disruption and exposure to extremist content. Critics warn it may push teens to informal workarounds and strain platform‑user relationships.
The move follows similar attempts in the UK and the US, but Canada’s approach is broader in scope, targeting all major platforms rather than a single service.