Canadian policymakers are seriously considering restricting social media access for youth under 16, following a Liberal party vote at their federal convention this weekend — but experts caution that turning the idea into law would face significant technical and privacy challenges.
Quebec MP Rachel Bendayan championed the proposal, arguing that prolonged social media use poses genuine risks to the mental health of young Canadians. The push comes as Australia moves forward with its own under-16 social media ban, prompting similar discussions across multiple countries about protecting youth from the platform's potential harms.
Public support for such a measure appears strong. An Angus Reid Institute poll from March found that three-quarters of Canadians (75 per cent) support a full ban on social media for under-16s, with parental support reaching 70 per cent. More recent global polling suggests similar sentiment, with 71 per cent of respondents across 30 countries believing children under 14 shouldn't access social media.
The Mental Health and Identity Question
Proponents argue the restrictions could protect young people's developing minds and their digital identities. "We put rules in place to protect children from things we've identified as dangerous," said David Gerhard, head of computer science at the University of Manitoba, drawing parallels to age restrictions on smoking and driving. "A digital amnesty would let kids reinvent themselves at 16, rather than being haunted by the dumb things they posted online as children."
However, the real challenge lies in how to actually enforce such a ban.
Three Paths to Age Verification
Australia's current approach offers some models Canada could consider. Matt Hatfield, executive director at Open Media, identifies three main methods being used to verify age on social platforms:
Government-issued ID verification, algorithmic age estimation based on appearance, or behavioral analysis — examining who users follow and their account connections to determine whether an account likely belongs to a young person or adult.
Australia's strategy involves platforms using a combination of these tools, keeping government ID as a last resort and avoiding forced identification of clearly adult accounts. Experts suggest a similar "mixed-method" approach could work in Canada.
Who Builds the System?
Gerhard predicts that rather than government developing age-verification technology itself, "a third-party private organization will build some tool that the government will then buy." This raises questions about data privacy, security, and who holds responsibility if verification systems fail or mishandle youth information.
While Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has not yet committed to formal legislation, the momentum behind the idea suggests further policy discussions are likely. The challenge now is bridging the gap between popular public support and the practical, privacy-respecting implementation of such restrictions.
This article is based on reporting from Global Tech.