Questions are being raised about how to enforce or verify the age of young users after the introduction of Bill C-34, new proposed federal legislation barring kids under-16 from access to social media accounts.

The legislation will allow for exemptions if companies can prove that they have created and implemented robust safety features.

Tech expert Kevin Andrews says although he thinks protecting younger people on social media is important, age verification remains a difficult sticking point.

“Do we want everybody, including adults, uploading identification to a social media company just to prove they’re old enough to use it?” wonders Andrews.

He says he thinks that’s where it gets “complicated” because he doesn’t think it’s smart to create a system where millions of Canadians have to submit all of their personal information to a tech company.