Ontario

Subnational jurisdiction · as of 2026-10-01

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Ontario has no enacted adult-content age-verification law, social-media minor-access restriction, app-store or device age-verification requirement, or age-appropriate design code. The Consumer Protection Act, 2023, which received Royal Assent on December 6, 2023, is not yet in force, and its text contains no age-verification, minor-access or children's-data provision.

Schedule 1 to the Strengthening Cyber Security and Building Trust in the Public Sector Act, 2024, the Enhancing Digital Security and Trust Act, 2024, authorizes regulations, standards and directives for children's aid societies and school boards on digital information and digital technology affecting individuals under age 18.

The regulation made on that subject, Ontario Regulation 52/26, in force from July 1, 2026, requires school boards to give notice when a student's personal digital information is disclosed to a third-party software application, and neither the Act nor that regulation places an age-check or minor-access duty on an online service.

The only enacted Ontario statute with children's online safety in its title, the Kids' Online Safety and Privacy Month Act, 2025, proclaims October as Kids' Online Safety and Privacy Month and creates no duty. Bill 138, the Social Media Age Restriction Plan Act, 2026, and Bill 137, the Keeping Our Kids Safe Online Act, 2026, were given first reading on June 2, 2026 and have entries of their own, and neither would impose an age-verification duty on a service.

The federal proposals, Bill S-209 on young persons' online access to pornographic material and Bill C-34 on social media, are before Parliament and are described in Canada's national entry.

Instruments on record

Bill 137, Keeping Our Kids Safe Online Act, 2026

Proposed

Bill 137, An Act to create a committee respecting the online safety of children, 1st Session, 44th Legislature

Applies to government

This bill is an education and advisory measure that places no duty on an online service. The Minister of Education would have to establish an Online Safety Advisory Committee within 60 days after the Act comes into force. The Committee would have to develop a plan to ban social media and artificial intelligence chatbots in schools, including the steps school boards should take to implement the ban and any exceptions for accessibility or educational needs.

The Committee would also have to develop recommendations on measures to prevent harm to children and youth from social media and artificial intelligence and measures to hold technology and social media companies accountable for those harms. The Committee would also have to develop a kindergarten to grade 12 curriculum on digital citizenship and online safety and another on artificial intelligence literacy.

Section 8 of the Education Act would be amended to require the Minister to incorporate the most recent versions of those two curricula when developing curriculum guidelines.

Enforcement body	None. The bill creates no regulator or enforcement power; the Minister of Education, or the member of the Executive Council to whom the Act is assigned, would establish the Committee, report to the Legislative Assembly and publish an annual progress report.
Private suits	no

Source: Full text of law

Bill 138, Social Media Age Restriction Plan Act, 2026

Proposed

Bill 138, An Act to establish a plan to implement social media age restrictions, 1st Session, 44th Legislature

Applies to government

Would require the Minister of Health to develop a plan respecting social media use for people under the age of 16.

The plan would have to set out a strategy to work with the Government of Canada to ban social media for people under the age of 16, the policies the Government of Ontario will implement to ensure that age restrictions on social media are enforced in Ontario, with timelines, and policies for monitoring social media providers to ensure that they are in compliance with age restriction policies.

The Minister would have to consult the Minister of Education, the Federal Minister of Health, and school boards, school councils and teachers in developing the plan. The plan would have to be tabled in the Legislative Assembly within one year after the section comes into force, and the Minister would have to ensure that it is implemented in accordance with any timelines it sets out.

Every duty in the bill runs to the Minister, who is the Minister of Health or such other member of the Executive Council to whom the administration of the Act is assigned.

Enforcement body	None. The bill creates no regulator or enforcement power; the Minister of Health, or the member of the Executive Council to whom the Act is assigned, would develop the plan, table it and ensure that it is implemented.
Private suits	no

Source: Full text of law