Critics caution against ‘complex regulator with two heads’ for social media, privacy laws – The Hill Times
Publish Date: 2026-06-26 05:00:00
Source Domain: www.hilltimes.com
Privacy experts warn the Liberal government’s proposal to create a “super regulator” to enforce laws governing social media and privacy legislation risks weakening Canada’s privacy protection regime by reducing the role of the federal privacy commissioner.
Both Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, and Bill C-36, Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act, were introduced earlier this month as a legislative one-two punch in response to calls to restrict social media use for children, and update Canada’s aging privacy laws for the age of artificial intelligence. Both pieces of legislation rely heavily on a not-yet-developed regulatory office for enforcement. Officials have estimated the office would be up and running in 18 to 24 months after the legislation comes into effect, and will be called the Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission.
“There are huge concerns with what the government has in mind. It’s effectively creating a super-regulator, and I think from both bills it raises some real issues,” said Michael Geist, a law professor and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa.
Michael Geist, a law professor and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, called it a ‘huge mistake’ to reduce the privacy commissioner’s private-sector oversight role. The Hill Times photograph by Andrews Meade
On the social media front, this commission will establish age verification standards for social media platforms, and can also decide if a platform has taken sufficient steps to make their sites safe for teens. Doing so could exempt the platform from being forced to ban users under 16 years old. Under the privacy legislation, the regulator will consider and investigate complaints from the public, launch its own complaints, issue orders, and has other powers. Under both sets of legislation, the regulator will have the power to investigate and…
