Instruments
Each one links to its
LexLint note, which carries what it requires and what it flags on.
Adult content age verification (AV)
cite Bill S-209 An Act to restrict young persons' online access to pornographic material, 45th Parliament, 1st Session (successor to Bill S-210, An Act to restrict young persons' online access to sexually explicit material, 44th Parliament, which died on prorogation January 6, 2025)
stage PROPOSED draft date not recorded
source official bill status page, Parliament of Canada LEGISinfo
Would make it an offence for an organization to make sexually explicit material available to young persons on the internet for commercial purposes, and would let a designated enforcement authority apply to the Federal Court to order internet service providers to block a noncompliant website. Sponsored by Senator Julie Miville-Dechene, the bill passed the Senate on April 15, 2026 and is now before the House of Commons at second reading.
Note and primary source →
Linking and framing
The Supreme Court of Canada held that a hyperlink to defamatory third-party content does not by itself constitute 'publication' of that content under Canadian defamation law; publication requires that the linked material be repeated or adopted in the linking text. This ruling broadly protects hyperlinkers (including news aggregators and search engines) from defamation liability for linking to third-party news content. The decision does not address copyright aspects of linking or framing.
Note and primary source →
News media bargaining code
cite CRTC 2024-262
stage IN FORCE in force since 2024-10-28
source crtc.gc.ca
The CRTC granted Google a five-year exemption from the Online News Act's mandatory bargaining requirements after Google agreed to contribute C$100 million annually to the Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC) for distribution to eligible Canadian news businesses. Key conditions include annual admission of new eligible news businesses to the CJC, a 2% cap on indemnity claims, and notification of any agreement changes or breaches. Payment to the CJC was required within 60 days of the decision.
Note and primary source →
Requires operators of designated digital news intermediaries (large search engines and social media platforms meeting the revenue and user thresholds set in regulations, to bargain with eligible Canadian news businesses and reach compensation agreements; failing agreement, mandatory mediation and final offer arbitration apply. Administered by the CRTC. Received Royal Assent June 22, 2023; came into force December 19, 2023 (180 days after assent).
Note and primary source →
cite SOR/2023-276
stage IN FORCE in force since 2023-12-19
source laws.justice.gc.ca / gazette.gc.ca
Sets the thresholds triggering the Online News Act: global revenue exceeding C$1 billion and at least 20 million Canadian monthly unique visitors (search) or active users (social media). Requires the largest search engine by Canadian advertising market share to provide at least C$100 million per year (CPI-indexed via formula: C$100M × CPIx ÷ CPI2023) to news businesses as a condition of exemption eligibility. Published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, Vol. 158, No. 1 (January 3, 2024); in force December 19, 2023.
Note and primary source →
cite CRTC 2024-327
stage IN FORCE in force since 2024-12-12
source crtc.gc.ca
Establishes operational procedures for mandatory bargaining under the Online News Act: a 90-day bargaining period, followed by a 120-day mediation phase, and a 45-day final offer arbitration (FOA) period. Also governs undue-preference complaints filed by eligible news businesses against platforms, and mandates data collection from both platforms and news businesses to support annual auditor reports.
A separate code-of-conduct regulation was consulted on in late 2024 (CRTC 2024-236 Notice of Consultation) but had not been registered as of the as_of_date.
Note and primary source →
Snippet reproduction
Permits fair dealing with any copyrighted work for the purpose of news reporting, provided the source and the author's name (if given in the source) are attributed; no attribution is required for photographs. This exception may shield news aggregators from copyright infringement claims when reproducing limited news excerpts or snippets, subject to the six-factor fairness analysis established by the Supreme Court of Canada in CCH Canadian Ltd. v. Law Society of Upper Canada (2004 SCC 13). Canada has no separate press-publisher neighbouring right analogous to the EU's Article 15 Directive.
Note and primary source →
Social media and minors
Would enact the Digital Safety Act and establish the Digital Safety Commission of Canada, reintroducing the Commission proposed in the earlier Bill C-63, and would additionally bar social media services from allowing account access to minors under 16, subject to a conditional exemption for services that demonstrate sufficient safeguards for younger users. Introduced by the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture on June 10, 2026, the bill is at second reading in the House of Commons.
Note and primary source →
cite Bill C-63 An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service, 44th Parliament, 1st Session
stage SUPERSEDED replaced by a later instrument
source official bill status page, Parliament of Canada LEGISinfo
Would have created the Online Harms Act and a Digital Safety Commission of Canada with a duty on large social media and user-content platforms to protect children and reduce their exposure to harmful content.
Introduced by the Minister of Justice on February 26, 2024, the bill died on the order paper when Parliament was prorogued on January 6, 2025, and its provisions were later split into the Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9, hate speech) and the Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34, child safety and the Digital Safety Commission).
Note and primary source →
