André Côté
Executive Director
Marium Hamid
Manager of Partnerships
COMMENTARY
By André Côté and Marium Hamid
This week marked a major milestone in Canada’s long-running debate over online harms, Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Mark Miller tabled Canada’s Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34).
The research on safety is clear: the internet and social media platforms, built to bring people together and create new spaces for participation, have become environments where Canadians experience real harms on a daily basis, from deepfakes and cyber scams to violent content and systemic child exploitation.
The government’s bill would establish a long-overdue legal framework to protect people online and hold platforms accountable. Some will argue the bill does too little; others will contend it goes too far. No legislation is perfect.
Our advice for parliamentarians and the public alike: let’s thoughtfully, but quickly, get this bill passed into law.
After all, we’re not starting from scratch. This legislation is the culmination of years of work, including public consultation and expert panel deliberations, intensive research, and advocacy from victims, parents, paediatricians, educators and other groups. It builds on tested models in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other places around the world. It also reflects hard-earned lessons of Canada’s previous attempt, the Online Harms Act (OHA), which died with the Trudeau government’s prorogation in early 2025.
The substance of the bill will require scrutiny. It extends key parts of the OHA framework: putting legal duties on companies to protect children and all users, address harmful content, and, critically, set up a new regulator with authorities to hold platforms accountable. The bill also includes popular, but complex new elements such as the social media ban for children under 16 and requirements for AI chatbot services.
These are steps that deserve careful debate, both in the public square and in Parliament, including through committee study. Yet, the government cannot allow the legislation to be stalled by partisan posturing, fixations on niche edge-cases, or disingenuous critiques about stifling speech or innovation. This is especially true because the bill will face major headwinds beyond Parliament Hill.
Canadians should brace for a major, coordinated pushback on two fronts. First, corporate lobbying from Silicon Valley tech giants and their proxies will deploy immense resources, and use a well-worn playbook, to divide, threaten or confuse in an effort to dilute or kill the bill.
Secondly, the U.S. administration itself has signaled that it will exert pressure on allies and foes alike to resist any attempt to regulate and tax America’s globally dominant tech companies. The elimination of Canada’s Digital Services Tax and last week’s reversal of levies on streaming platforms, like Netflix, are two recent examples. The coming CUSMA negotiations will certainly bring more coercive tactics.
The Carney government must stand firm. And this requires the backing of advocates, industry and the public, not just in the corridors of power, but through grassroots actions like letters to MPs and mobilizing school parent councils. Canada must not sacrifice its sovereignty or the online safety of its citizens and children to satisfy powerful foreign corporate interests or advance trade negotiations.
Resisting these pressures will require a strengthened focus on what matters most. Social platforms and other online services are designed to manipulate and maximize attention, causing significant harm to users, especially the youngest and most vulnerable. Canadians are fed up, and overwhelmingly support government action to impose strict guardrails and accountability for tech giants.
When it comes to protecting children and people online, Canada has a responsibility to act in the public interest through a robust but flexible framework, passed into law, that leaves room for adjustment as technology changes.
No piece of digital legislation will ever be perfect or fully future-proof—technology moves too fast for that. But as the saying goes, perfect is the enemy of the good.