Bill C-216 Minors in Digital Age
C-216 An Act to enact the Protection of Minors in the Digital Age Act and to amend two Acts
Short Title: Promotion of Safety in the Digital Age Act
Bill Type: Private Member’s Bill
Bill Sponsor: Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill)
Status: Outside the Order of Precedence — First Reading June 19, 2025. This bill hasn't passed yet.
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WHO GAINS POWER
- The Minister of Industry gains authority to regulate how online platforms treat minors — including data use, safety settings, parental controls and advertising
- The CRTC gains authority to establish guidelines on how platforms may conduct market research involving minors
- Parents gain new legal rights to control, monitor and delete their child's account and data on any platform
- Minors and parents gain a private right of action — they can sue platforms directly in court for serious harm
- Law enforcement gains expanded mandatory reporting obligations from internet service providers, including transmission data for child sexual abuse material
- Courts gain new tools to unmask anonymous online harassers via production orders
WHO LOSES POWER
- Platform operators (social media, gaming, apps) lose the ability to design for engagement over safety when minors are involved
- Platforms cannot use personalized recommendation systems or personal data to market age-restricted products to minors
- Platforms cannot use dark patterns — interface designs that trick users into weakening safety settings
- Anonymous online harassers lose protection — courts can order their identity revealed
- Platforms lose discretion on default settings — the highest protection level must be the default for children
WHO GAINS MONEY
- Minors and parents who suffer serious harm can claim damages, aggravated damages and punitive damages directly from platforms
- Victims of non-consensual intimate image sharing — including AI-generated false intimate images — can claim reimbursement for removal costs
- Independent reviewers and auditors — platforms must commission independent reviews every two years
WHO LOSES MONEY
- Platform operators face fines up to $25 million for violating duty of care, safety settings, parental controls or prohibitions (sections 4–9)
- Platform operators face fines up to $10 million for transparency and record-keeping violations (sections 10–12)
- Platforms bear the cost of age verification systems, independent audits, annual reports and compliance infrastructure
THE CATCH
- ⚠️ This Bill is unlikely to pass — it is an opposition Private Member's Bill introduced by a Conservative MP in a Liberal-majority Parliament. Private Members' Bills from opposition members rarely pass without government support, regardless of the issue
- ⚠️ "Knows or should reasonably know" is the standard for identifying minors — but the Bill prohibits requiring digital ID. Platforms must verify age without collecting identity documents — how they do this is left to regulation
- ⚠️ AI-generated false intimate images are now a criminal offence — up to 14 years if created during an aggravated sexual assault. This is a significant expansion of the Criminal Code
- ⚠️ The CRTC sets market research guidelines — but those guidelines are not binding law; they are guidelines only
- ⚠️ Private right of action requires "serious harm" — defined as significant physical or psychological harm or substantial economic loss. Everyday harms may not meet the threshold
- ⚠️ Parts 2 and 3 come into force immediately on royal assent — but Part 1 (the main platform obligations) doesn't kick in until 18 months after royal assent, and transparency/audit requirements not until 2 years after
- ⚠️ No dedicated regulator or enforcement body is named — the Minister and CRTC share oversight but no single agency is responsible for enforcement