The federal government plans to propose a ban on social media use for children under the age of 16 as part of its highly anticipated online harms bill that will be introduced Wednesday, Global News has learned.
A government source confirmed the plans Monday ahead of the bill’s formal introduction. The source requested anonymity to publicly discuss the bill.
Culture Minister Marc Miller told reporters he couldn’t comment on the contents of the bill before he tables it in the House of Commons.
The Globe and Mail first reported on the forthcoming online harms bill earlier Monday.
The proposed social media ban for youth under 16 would follow action first taken in Australia, where the measure took effect last December.
Other countries including the United Kingdom, Spain and South Korea are considering their own youth social media bans. Malaysia enacted its own ban on social media accounts for users under 16 last week, while Brazil now requires youth accounts to be linked to those of a legal guardian to ensure supervision.
French legislation that would put the social media age limit at 15 was approved by the National Assembly in January and is approaching a final vote, with officials aiming to have it in place for the start of the school year in September.
The idea gained further traction in Canada after Liberal Party members adopted a motion to pursue the policy at their annual convention in April.
That move, and the release of polling suggesting broad Canadian support, prompted Miller to say the government was “very seriously” considering a youth social media ban.
In April, Manitoba became the first province to announce it would move to enact a social media ban for kids. Other provinces, including Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick, have said they are considering doing the same.
Advocates say such a ban is necessary measure to reign in social media companies who have resisted regulation, and that it could be one tool among many to combat growing evidence of health impacts from screen use and social media among children.
“I feel it’s a common sense approach because the science is absolutely clear on the impact to young people,” said Shimi Kang, a clinical associate professor in psychiatry and mental health at the University of British Columbia and the co-founder and CEO of Future Ready Minds.
“We can’t let the perfect be the enemy of a start in this conversation.”
While Kang acknowledged that addressing online harms for youth is more complicated than simply keeping them off platforms, critics say a ban misses the mark.
“I think it’s a very simple approach to regulate what we know are online harms that young people are exposed to,” Christopher Dietzel, a postdoctoral fellow in sociology at Western University and communications studies affiliate associate professor at Concordia University, said in an interview.
However, he added, “It doesn’t actually remove the harm. It does nothing to hold companies accountable for the harms that exist on their platforms. And if these harms are problematic for people who are under 16, they’re likely problematic for people who are over 16.”
Canada’s privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne said last month when asked about a potential social media ban that such a move shouldn’t come at the expense of ensuring platforms have strong privacy protections.
“I think at the heard of these considerations should be what is in the best interest of children,” he told reporters. “The first step need not necessarily be a ban.”
Enforcing a ban also presents additional privacy risks, experts add.
Under the Australian law, platforms looking to verify a user’s age can either request copies of identification documents, use a third party to apply age estimation technology to an account holder’s face, or make inferences from data already available such has how long an account has been held.
Michael Geist, a professor and Canada Research Chair in internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, said that potential data collection alone is concerning and would need to apply to all social media users regardless of age to be effective.
He noted that it can be difficult to discern between a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old by appearance alone, whether in person or online through biometrics systems.
“So what those systems tend to do then is dig deeper,” he said. “They look at who your friend circle is or the language that you use when posting to try to make a better guess.
“Well, now they’re literally engaging in increased surveillance in order to try (to identify your age), and raising even more privacy concerns in order pull this together.”
Research suggests many Australian teens are evading that country’s ban, while the country’s online safety watchdog said in March that social media companies were not fully complying.
The U.K.-based Molly Rose Foundation released a study in April that found 61 per cent of 12-to-15-year-olds in Australia continue to hold social media accounts despite being banned, while 70 per cent said it was “easy” to circumvent the ban.
Dietzel said taking an abstinence- or prohibition-based approach to youth social media use could create its own harms.
“If they’re using these products illegally, there could be stigma (attached) and it might actually prevent them from seeking help in ways that otherwise they wouldn’t be,” he said.
Advocates, meanwhile, have said a ban would improve children’s mental and physical health while curbing growing online addiction among young people.
“The message this sends to Big Tech is loud and clear: if these companies refuse to take simple steps to make their products safer and less addictive for young people, they should lose their right to target children,” said Josh Golin, executive director of FairPlay, which is pushing for the U.S. to pass legislation aimed at forcing social media companies to do more to protect youth.
Margot Denommé, a former Crown attorney who now leads the group Raising Awareness Against Digital Dangers, told Global News a social media ban could present an opportunity for youth to be educated on online dangers before they begin using these platforms.
“We didn’t need to sitting at our desk smoking to understand that cigarettes cause lung cancer,” she said. “We give youth driver’s education before we put them behind the wheel of a car.
“I believe that we need to take the same approach when it comes to an age minimum (for social media).”
Dietzel agreed that education to prepare youth for social media use, which is part of Australia’s online safety regime, as well as more supports for those who have been harmed online would be beneficial.
But Geitz warned a ban would “just be a band-aid” for the larger problem of social media regulation by putting the onus — and privacy risks — onto Canadians.
“Even if this is a temporary measure, there really is no putting the toothpaste back in the tube,” he said.
“There’s no temporary aspect to it once you’ve built this infrastructure and collected all the data.”
—With files from Global’s Bryan Mullan and Mackenzie Gray
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Ad Choices
