Canadian Parents Want Tougher Rules To Protect Kids Online

Two separate movements supporting kids’ online safety are gaining momentum in Canada. On Monday, April 27, child advocates rallied on Parliament Hill to call for a federal online-harms law that covers AI chatbots and gaming platforms, not just social media. At the same time, a separate parent-led campaign is calling for a ban on social media use for kids under 16.

Both efforts are aimed at the same problem: many parents think the rules meant to protect kids online have not kept up with the apps, games and AI tools children are actually using.

A push to ban social media for kids under 16

A group called Age Standard has launched a national petition asking Ottawa to bring in a minimum age of 16 for social media use.

The campaign was started by parents who work in tech. One of its founders, Jean-Sebastien Giroux, has said social media platforms are not designed with children’s development in mind and that parents should not be left to manage the fallout on their own.

If the idea moved forward, it would mean social platforms—not parents—would be responsible for stopping younger teens from opening accounts. That could involve an age-check system, though exactly how that would work is still a major question.

The proposal is getting attention at a time when support for tougher limits appears to be growing. A recent Angus Reid poll found strong support for banning social media for children under 16, and Ottawa has signalled that it is taking the issue seriously.

A separate push to include AI chatbots and gaming in online-harms law

Children First Canada led a rally in Ottawa calling for a wider online-harms law—one that would include AI chatbots and gaming platforms along with social media. The group wants the government to require tech companies to build safer products for kids from the start, reduce foreseeable risks and face real consequences if they fail to protect young users.

The group says kids can run into serious harm in online spaces that do not look like traditional social media feeds. That includes being contacted by strangers in games, being exposed to harmful or sexual content, being manipulated by recommendation systems or interacting with AI tools in ways that are not well understood or well regulated.

One of the parents speaking at the rally was James Sokolowski. He has said his 15-year-old daughter, Penelope, was groomed to self-harm through Roblox by members of 764, an extremist online network, before her suicide in 2025. Advocates are pointing to cases like hers as a reason gaming platforms should be part of any new online-safety law, not treated as a separate issue.

Why Ottawa is under pressure

Ottawa has already tried to pass a federal online-harms law, but the last version—Bill C-63—did not become law before the election. Now the federal government is back at the drawing board. Culture Minister Marc Miller has asked an expert advisory group to help shape a new version of the legislation, including whether it should cover AI chatbots and whether Canada should set age limits for social media use.

What the two pushes have in common

Parents are no longer just worried about what happens on Instagram or TikTok. They are also looking at group chats inside games, recommendation systems, AI chatbots and other online tools kids use every day. That is what advocates mean when they say the old lines no longer work. Social media, gaming and AI are often treated as separate categories, but for kids, they can overlap quickly—and the risks can, too.

This article was crafted with the assistance of an AI language model. The final content was reviewed and edited by a human and reflects the editorial judgment and expertise of Today's Parent.