CALGARY, AB: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has released a new report warning that Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, would force ordinary Canadians to prove who they are just to use social media, and hand vast new powers to an unelected regulator to police online speech and private AI conversations.
Authored by veteran journalist and policy analyst Nigel Hannaford, “The Safe Social Media Act: A threat to our privacy and freedom of expression” explains that while protecting children is a legitimate goal, Bill C-34 does so by treating every Canadian as a suspect and every conversation as a compliance risk.
“This is not a narrow child protection bill,” John Carpay said, President of the Justice Centre. “It is a population-wide identity screen, a speech code enforced by fines measured in millions, and a new commission that will write the real rules after Parliament has left the room.”
Key findings include:
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Your ID, face, or bank details may become the price of logging in. An effective social media ban would almost certainly require screening everyone, adults included, through government ID, biometrics, or other checks – generating significant security concerns.
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Privacy is not a niche concern. The Supreme Court has long held that the Charter protects a reasonable expectation of privacy in personal data and digital communications. Forcing millions of adults to surrender identifying information to use everyday platforms undermines this expectation of privacy.
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Parents get sidelined. The bill replaces family judgment with a one-size-fits-all federal ban. Parents who already supervise devices, set limits, and know their own children get no real say.
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“Hate” becomes whatever a new Digital Safety Commission says it is. Platforms face penalties of up to $10 million or three percent of global revenue if they fail to mitigate vague “harmful content,” including content that “foments hatred.”
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Your AI chats may be watched. Regulated AI chatbots would have to interrupt conversations about self-harm or serious violence and may escalate them to crisis services or police. In practice, companies will scan broadly. Users will learn to stay quiet or risk having their private interactions turned over to police.
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Parliament votes on the shell; Ottawa fills in the details later. Fifty major decisions (which platforms are covered, what counts as “adequate” age checks, how standards are applied) are left to Cabinet and a new Digital Safety Commission after the bill passes.
The report urges Parliament to reject Bill C-34 in its present form, enforce the Criminal Code against real online crimes, keep robust age checks focused on dedicated pornography sites, and equip parents with better tools for protecting minors from online harms.
Justice Centre President John Carpay added, “Canadians are being told this is about keeping kids safe. What they are actually being offered is mandatory ID for adults, monitored AI conversations, and a speech referee with the power to fine companies into submission.”
“If the price of using the internet is proving your identity to the state and watching your words around a government commission, that is not a child protection measure as much as a surveillance regime with a friendly slogan,” he said.
The Justice Centre is Canada’s leading civil liberties organization defending Charter rights and freedoms in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion. Founded in 2010, the Justice Centre funds lawyers across Canada, relies entirely on voluntary donations to carry out its mission, and issues official tax receipts to donors.
