Ottawa wants to block kids from social media. How would age verification work?

In June, the Canadian federal government introduced Bill C-34, which would require social media platforms to block access for users under 16 years old. However, the exact methods for age verification have yet to be determined. Culture Minister Marc Miller stated that there will be "a back and forth with platforms as to what protects people's privacy and what is adequate and sufficient in the circumstances."

To gain insight into possible age verification methods, we can examine experiences in other countries. Canada is among several nations worldwide implementing social media age restrictions, such as the United Kingdom and France.

The United Kingdom plans to impose a ban on kids under 16, while France has approved a ban for users under 15. However, France's Constitutional Council recently struck down the social media ban due to concerns over infringement on freedom of expression and privacy rights. Various countries employ age verification systems with differing levels of effectiveness, according to Heidi Tworek, a professor of history and public policy at the University of British Columbia.

Examples include Australia's age restrictions and the U.K.'s mandatory verification system for adult content.

Australia implemented a law in December 2025 requiring social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent users under 16 from accessing their services. Nonetheless, the law has some gaps, as reported by Australia's online safety commissioner. Despite millions of accounts being removed or restricted, about 70% of children aged under 16 retained accounts after the ban took effect.

The report suggests that facial age estimation, a popular method of age assurance, has higher error rates for children near the age threshold of 16 years.

Andrew MacDougall, a senior policy fellow at McGill University's Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, recommends Canada learn from Australia's experience by establishing its own standard for age verification. The U.K.'s Online Safety Act outlines seven separate methods of age verification for legal access to adult content, including facial age estimation, digital ID, credit card verification, mobile network operator verification, email-based verification, and photo ID-matching.

Each method has its pros and cons, with facial age estimation being prone to errors and methods relying on existing relationships being straightforward but risking data misuse. In Canada, the Conservative party has expressed opposition to a government-issued digital ID, despite the potential benefits of facial age estimation, which relies on sensitive biometric data.