Age verification in Canada: S-209, C-34 and what to do now
Blog post from Didit
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Canada has no general federal age-verification law in force as of 31 October 2026, although Bill S-209 and Bill C-34 have both reached House of Commons committees and would introduce age-related duties for commercial pornography providers and certain regulated online services if enacted. Bill S-209 would make organizations commercially providing pornography liable for access by people under 18 unless they use a prescribed, highly effective, arm’s-length age-verification or estimation method, while Bill C-34 would require adequate measures to limit children’s exposure to pornography and prevent under-16s from opening accounts on social media services designated by regulation. Both proposals require personal data collected for age checks to be used only for that purpose and destroyed once the result is produced, reflecting the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s existing guidance to minimize collection, retain only an age signal or result, avoid secondary uses, and provide privacy-protective alternatives and appeals. Provincial rules already impose more specific requirements in areas such as online gambling, where Ontario requires validation before account creation for users aged 19 and over and Alberta applies an 18-plus threshold with identity checks. The text also notes differing provincial age limits for cannabis, tobacco, and vaping, ongoing discussion of a potential Quebec digital-majority rule, and the potential use of facial age estimation, document verification, or database checks, often combined through a stepped approach for borderline cases.
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