Governments in two major English-speaking countries moved this week to restrict children’s access to social media, adding momentum to a global policy push that Australia set in motion when it imposed an outright ban for under-16s last December. The moves come as parents in both nations have called loudly for action, and as research continues to link heavy platform use among adolescents to anxiety, depression, and disrupted sleep.
Canada tabled Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, which would bar children under 16 from holding accounts on social media platforms, live-streaming services, and adult content sites. The legislation also addresses AI chatbots, requiring them to implement crisis intervention protocols when users express intent to harm themselves or others. Platforms that can demonstrate sufficient child-safety safeguards may apply for an exemption, but those that fail to comply face fines of up to three percent of global revenue or C$10 million, whichever is greater. A new Digital Safety Commission would oversee enforcement, though officials say the bill could take a year to pass and eighteen months more to stand up the commission.
The UK is farther along the road to implementation. A national consultation on children’s digital wellbeing closed in late May after drawing more than 116,000 responses. Nine in ten participating parents said they favored a ban, according to Technology Secretary Liz Kendall. Under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, passed in April, the government is legally obligated to impose some form of age or feature-based restriction for under-16s, with ministers targeting regulations by year’s end. Options include a minimum age for social media, restrictions on addictive design features like infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmic recommendations, and overnight curfews.
Platform design sits at the center of both proposals. Algorithmic recommendation systems, engagement-based feeds, autoplay, and endless scrolling are identified as features that amplify harmful content and increase exposure, particularly for young users. When Australia’s law took effect last December, social media companies collectively deactivated the accounts of nearly five million teenagers within a month.
France, Denmark, and Poland are considering tightening rules, while Greece announced it would ban access to young people under 15 from January 2027. For families in most developed countries, formal rules on children’s social media access are increasingly a question of when rather than whether.
