Canada's Safe Social Media Act: guardrails earn a backdoor for platforms

Canada’s Liberal government introduced the Safe Social Media Act, which would block under-16s from creating social media accounts unless platforms can demonstrate guardrails to protect children from bullying or content that encourages self-harm; it also requires rapid removal (within 24 hours) of sexually explicit material and would regulate AI chatbots separately. The bill must pass Parliament to take effect and aligns Canada with broader global pushes for online safety ahead of G7 talks, though industry groups warn the ban could backfire and call for stronger, safer protections rather than blanket exclusion.