Overview
- Meta is lobbying Ottawa and provinces for a law that requires Apple and Google to confirm whether users are over or under 18 and pass a simple age signal to apps.
- Meta says an app‑store approach is the most privacy‑protective and efficient method, citing device setup data and precedents in more than 20 U.S. states.
- The federal reaction has been described as generally positive, while provinces have expressed support tempered by jurisdictional concerns.
- A Meta‑commissioned survey reports 83% of Canadian parents favor app‑store age checks, with broad backing for stronger parental controls and content limits.
- Justice Minister Sean Fraser plans a bill targeting online sexual exploitation and extortion, and AI Minister Evan Solomon’s early‑December privacy bill could include age limits for chatbots, as Meta rolls out PG‑13‑style teen settings and parental controls in Canada.