Canada Seeks to Shield Kids Online: Age Verification Mandate

Canada is proposing new legislation, the Safe Social Media Act, aimed at protecting young users online. The bill requires individuals to be at least 16 years old to access social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. A newly established Digital Safety Commission of Canada would oversee these regulations, with safety standards to be defined by the regulator.

This move by Canada aligns with a global trend of countries implementing measures to safeguard youth from the adverse effects of social media, including mental health challenges and cyberbullying. Australia previously enacted similar legislation in November 2024, imposing fines of up to $33 million on tech companies that fail to disable underage user accounts. However, such identity verification requirements have raised concerns regarding surveillance and data security, with some groups and companies opposing them.

Previous attempts by Canada to regulate tech giants, such as the Online Harms Act in 2024, did not succeed due to fears of impacting freedom of speech. While some elements of that act are present in the new bill, critics suggest that age verification might be a superficial solution, a 'Band-Aid' approach rather than a comprehensive fix for internet safety. Meta and TikTok have not yet commented on the proposed legislation.