A briefing note for Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, dated June 11, sets out how to defend Bill C-34, the “Safe Social Media Act,” which the Canadian government tabled the day before. The note expects Google and Meta to support the bill and lists child-safety groups among its backers.
C-34 raises the minimum age for a social media account to 16 and puts age-verification duties on the platforms Canadians use every day. To keep anyone younger off a service, a platform first has to establish how old everyone is, which means checking the age of adults as well. The bill lets companies verify age directly or estimate it, the first route pointing toward government ID, the second toward AI that guesses age from a face. A Digital Safety Commission of three to five members would decide which methods are acceptable and would oversee the destruction of the data collected along the way.
Age verification works only by gathering identity data on the entire adult population of a platform. The rule to destroy that data exists because the system collects it from adults in the first place, and the government’s safeguard is a promise to delete it afterward. Anonymity ends at the sign-up screen.
The talking points sell none of this. The note tells Guilbeault to call the bill “an essential step forward” and to describe online safety as a shared duty, with protecting children “a collective responsibility.”
The note quotes Google as “committed to working with the federal government to establish higher safety standards for all platforms.” Meta told the government it wants “safe, positive online experiences for young people” and is assessing the bill. The government read those replies as approval and built its messaging around them. Google and Meta run on harvesting personal data, and the bill would route a new stream of identity checks through the platforms they operate.
The note also lists endorsements from Children First Canada, UNICEF Canada, and the Canadian Medical Association. It cites polling to show the public is already onside. A 2025 Dais survey put support for requiring platforms to reduce harmful content at 69 percent. A Leger poll found 77 percent backing tougher regulation of social media and AI. The government says four in 10 Canadians report exposure to online hate every week or month.
The bill also reaches into what stays online. It names seven categories of content platforms must address, from child sexual abuse material and non-consensual intimate images to hatred, incitement to violence, and terrorist content. Companies carry a “Duty to Protect Children” and have to build safety features into how their services work. The same duties extend to AI chatbot services. Platforms that fall short face administrative penalties of up to $10 million or 3 percent of global revenue and criminal fines reaching $20 million or 5 percent. The seven categories are loosely drawn. A company removes lawful speech rather than risk a fine that size.
C-34 revives an effort the government lost once already. Its predecessor, the Online Harms Act, or Bill C-63, died when Parliament was prorogued. The government reconvened an expert advisory group in March 2026 to update the plan, with artificial intelligence added to the list of concerns.
Which platforms the law touches is left to Cabinet, which can designate services by regulation. A company can escape the age rule if the Commission decides its safeguards for children are enough.
