**Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, was introduced in the House of Commons on June 10, 2026, proposing a regulatory framework for online safety that includes age-appropriate protections and a potential 16-year minimum age requirement for designated social media services.** The legislation would create a Digital Safety Commission of Canada to enforce duties on regulated platforms, such as reducing exposure to harmful content and implementing age-verification or estimation measures, but the under-16 account restrictions apply only to services later designated by regulation rather than automatically across platforms. Companies could seek exemptions by demonstrating sufficient child safeguards, and full implementation would require additional regulations, commission setup, and enforcement timelines that officials have indicated could extend well beyond royal assent. As of mid-October 2026, the bill remains in the parliamentary process with ongoing debate, stakeholder input, and opposition from groups citing privacy, free expression, and regulatory scope concerns. These factors, combined with standard legislative timelines for committee review, Senate consideration, and potential amendments, make enactment of a binding under-16 restriction before year-end highly improbable according to trader consensus. No major procedural breakthroughs or accelerated timelines have been reported in recent weeks.