Canada weighs bringing Roblox, Discord under online child-safety bill C-34
By Rhea MalhotraDigital Life Writer, Peepals Yuva
Representative image: Sunriseforever / Pixabay
Canada's Marc Miller says gaming platforms like Roblox and Discord could face child-safety duties under Bill C-34, but not its under-16 account ban.
What Happened
Canada may extend its proposed online child-safety law, Bill C-34, to gaming platforms such as Roblox and Discord. Marc Miller, the minister sponsoring the bill, told a Canadian newspaper in late October 2026 that he would consider bringing parts of gaming under the law's child-protection rules, while describing such platforms as "a different beast" that would not face the bill's ban on under-16 social media accounts. Debate on the bill, known as the Safe Social Media Act, resumed in the House of Commons on October 29, 2026.
Key Facts
- Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, was introduced in Canada's Parliament in June 2026 and is at second reading in the House of Commons.
- The bill would require regulated social media services to stop under-16s from holding accounts, with the list of covered services left to later regulations.
- It also sets duties to protect children and to be transparent, covers AI chatbot services, and would create a Digital Safety Commission to enforce the rules.
- The bill lets the federal cabinet extend those child-protection and transparency duties to other online services through regulations, which is how gaming platforms could be included.
- On October 21, 2026, Conservative MP Rachael Thomas raised Roblox and Minecraft in the Commons, saying children spend hours on them; Miller replied that the government does not intend to stop young people from gaming.
- Reported options for gaming platforms include stricter age checks, more parental controls and limits on messaging between users of certain age groups; no wording has been published.
- After second reading, the bill must pass a Commons committee, a third reading and the Senate before becoming law.
Why It Matters
Many young people now spend more time socialising inside games and chat servers than on traditional social networks. Roblox and Minecraft are worlds where players build, play and talk to each other, and Discord is a chat app built around gaming communities. Lawmakers in several countries have argued that these spaces carry the same risks as social media, such as contact from strangers, grooming and harmful content, but have so far been regulated less strictly.
Canada's approach, as Miller has described it, separates two ideas. One is an outright account ban for under-16s, which the bill applies to social media. The other is a set of safety duties, meaning the company must show it has taken steps to protect children, which could be applied to games without banning young players. That distinction matters for gamers: being covered by safety duties would mean changes to features like voice chat, direct messages and age checks, not losing access to the game.
The move follows a wider trend. Norway said in October 2026 that its planned under-16 social media law would cover harmful games such as Roblox, and other governments are debating where gaming fits. Because these platforms operate worldwide, a safety feature built for one country's rules is sometimes rolled out more widely, so decisions in Ottawa or Oslo can shape the experience of players elsewhere, including in India.
For students who game or run Discord servers, the practical message is to expect more age checks and tighter controls on who can message younger users. Reviewing your own privacy and messaging settings now, and those of younger siblings, is a sensible step whatever the final law says.
| Stage | Status of Bill C-34 (as of November 2, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Introduced | June 2026 |
| Second reading | In progress; debate resumed October 29, 2026 |
| Committee, third reading, Senate | Still to come |
| Gaming platforms | Could be added later by regulation; no wording yet |
Impact
Short-term: Nothing changes for players yet. The bill is still being debated, and the government has not published any regulation naming Roblox, Discord or Minecraft.
Long-term: If gaming platforms are brought under the law, they could be required to tighten age verification, add parental controls and restrict messaging between adults and minors for Canadian users, and some of these changes may spread to other countries.
Who is affected: Young gamers and their parents in Canada, gaming and chat companies such as Roblox, Discord and Minecraft's owner, and, indirectly, players worldwide if companies change features globally.
Key Takeaway
Canada's Bill C-34 could extend child-safety duties, but not the under-16 account ban, to gaming platforms like Roblox and Discord, though no rules have been written yet.
Questions and Answers
What is Bill C-34 in Canada?
Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, is a proposed Canadian law introduced in June 2026. It would bar under-16s from holding accounts on regulated social media, set child-safety duties for online services, cover AI chatbots and create a Digital Safety Commission.
Will Bill C-34 ban children from Roblox or Discord?
Not as currently described. Minister Marc Miller has said gaming platforms are "a different beast" and would not face the under-16 account ban, though they could be given child-protection duties through later regulations.
When could the rules take effect?
Not soon. The bill is at second reading as of late October 2026 and still needs committee review, a third reading and Senate approval, after which regulations would have to be written.
Does this affect gamers in India?
Not directly, since it is a Canadian law. But Roblox, Discord and Minecraft run worldwide, and safety features built to meet one country's rules are sometimes extended to other markets.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Rhea Malhotra, Digital Life WriterCovers Digital Life and more for Peepals Yuva. All stories by Rhea Malhotra
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Rhea Malhotra is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
