Canada
Canada has no enacted federal law requiring age verification for adult content or restricting minors' access to social media, but two flagship proposals are currently before Parliament. Bill S-209, the Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act (successor to Bill S-210, which died on the prorogation of January 6, 2025), would require commercial pornography sites to verify that users are adults, and passed the Senate on April 15, 2026 before moving to the House of Commons. The 2024 Online Harms Act (Bill C-63) died on the same prorogation and was split into the Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9) and the Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34), introduced June 10, 2026, which would create a Digital Safety Commission of Canada and bar social media services from allowing account access to anyone under 16.
National jurisdiction. Reviewed 2026-07-15.
Bill S-209, Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act
Would make it an offence for an organization to make sexually explicit material available to young persons on the internet for commercial purposes, and would let a designated enforcement authority apply to the Federal Court to order internet service providers to block a noncompliant website. Sponsored by Senator Julie Miville-Dechene, the bill passed the Senate on April 15, 2026 and is now before the House of Commons at second reading.
- Citation
- Bill S-209, An Act to restrict young persons' online access to pornographic material, 45th Parliament, 1st Session (successor to Bill S-210, An Act to restrict young persons' online access to sexually explicit material, 44th Parliament, which died on prorogation January 6, 2025)
- Status
- Proposed
- Effective date
- Not yet effective
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 18
- Covered services
- Commercial internet services that make sexually explicit material available to the public
- Penalties
- Fines up to 250,000 Canadian dollars for a first offence and up to 500,000 Canadian dollars for subsequent offences, plus court-ordered website blocking for noncompliance
- Enforcement body
- Enforcement authority to be designated by the Governor in Council (department officials have suggested the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, not yet formalized in the bill text)
- Private right of action
- no
- Source
- Bill S-209, An Act to restrict young persons' online access to pornographic material, 45th Parliament, 1st Session (successor to Bill S-210, An Act to restrict young persons' online access to sexually explicit material, 44th Parliament, which died on prorogation January 6, 2025)
Bill C-34, Safe Social Media Act
Would enact the Digital Safety Act and establish the Digital Safety Commission of Canada, reintroducing the Commission proposed in the earlier Bill C-63, and would additionally bar social media services from allowing account access to minors under 16, subject to a conditional exemption for services that demonstrate sufficient safeguards for younger users. Introduced by the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture on June 10, 2026, the bill is at second reading in the House of Commons.
- Citation
- Bill C-34, An Act to enact the Digital Safety Act and the Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act, 45th Parliament, 1st Session
- Status
- Proposed
- Effective date
- Not yet effective
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 16
- Covered services
- Social media services and public chatbots and other online services designated under the Digital Safety Act
- Enforcement body
- Digital Safety Commission of Canada (to be established by the Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act)
- Source
- Bill C-34, An Act to enact the Digital Safety Act and the Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act, 45th Parliament, 1st Session
Bill C-63, Online Harms Act (44th Parliament)
Would have created the Online Harms Act and a Digital Safety Commission of Canada with a duty on large social media and user-content platforms to protect children and reduce their exposure to harmful content. Introduced by the Minister of Justice on February 26, 2024, the bill died on the order paper when Parliament was prorogued on January 6, 2025, and its provisions were later split into the Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9, hate speech) and the Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34, child safety and the Digital Safety Commission).
- Citation
- Bill C-63, An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service, 44th Parliament, 1st Session
- Status
- Superseded
- Effective date
- Not yet effective
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Covered services
- Large social media and user-generated content platforms accessible in Canada
- Penalties
- Proposed administrative monetary penalties up to the greater of 6 percent of gross global revenue or 10,000,000 Canadian dollars, and criminal penalties up to the greater of 8 percent of gross global revenue or 25,000,000 Canadian dollars
- Enforcement body
- Proposed Digital Safety Commission of Canada, Digital Safety Ombudsperson and Digital Safety Office (never established, the bill died before passage)
- Private right of action
- no
- Source
- Bill C-63, An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service, 44th Parliament, 1st Session
Reviewed 2026-07-15. Confidence: high. Fast-moving area, verify before relying. Not legal advice.