OTTAWA (February 3, 2026) — As countries like Australia and France move ahead with sweeping age-based restrictions and major legal action rocks US-based tech industry, the country’s top online safety advocates will appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to urge Parliament to table and pass a strong, child-centred Online Safety Act without further delay.
Children First Canada (CFC) has been leading the charge for the reintroduction of the Online Harms Bill (and urging that it be named the “Online Safety Act”). CFC founder and CEO Sara Austin will be joined by youth who face the daily threats caused by online harms, alongside Carol Todd, founder of the Amanda Todd Legacy Society, whose testimony underscores the real-world cost of inaction, as well as mental health experts.
What: House of Commons Heritage Committee study: Effects of Influencers and Social Media Content on Children and Adolescents
When: Tuesday, February 3, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET
Where: Parliament of Canada (virtual option via House platform)
Children First Canada will be represented by:
- Sara Austin, Founder & CEO, Children First Canada
- Zachary Fathally, 12-year-old youth advocate / Young Canadians’ Parliament (CFC)
- Josephine Maharaj, 17-year-old youth advocate / Young Canadians’ Parliament (CFC)
Why This Matters
Canada has mountains of evidence that children are being harmed online daily through sexual exploitation, AI-enabled abuse, sextortion, grooming, cyberbullying, and algorithmic amplification of self-harm and hate. Meanwhile, Australia and France move to ban social media, and major U.S. litigation against social media companies continues to grow, with families, school districts, and governments alleging platform designs harm children and youth.
CFC will tell Parliament: stop studying what we already know, start building the protections kids need now.
What CFC is calling for in a “Made-in-Canada” Online Safety Act
Through the “Countdown for Kids” campaign, Children First Canada is mobilizing parents, children and youth, pediatric hospitals, educators, law enforcement, and national partners across Canada to demand Parliament table and pass a strong Online Safety Act that includes:
- Duty of care: clear, enforceable obligations on platforms to prevent foreseeable harms to children.
- Independent public oversight: a strong, independent regulator with real enforcement power, technical capacity, transparency and authority.
- Youth protections by design: age-appropriate design, limits on addictive features, meaningful defaults for minors, and safeguards for AI-enabled abuse.
- Data access for public-interest research: so Canada can measure harms and enforce compliance.
- AI systems in scope: where they function as mass consumer services accessed by children and families.
Quotes
Sara Austin, Founder & CEO, Children First Canada:
“Every day of delay is a day in a child’s life that we can’t give back. We don’t need another study telling us kids are being exploited, groomed, and harmed online. We need Parliament to do its job and pass an Online Safety Act with real teeth. Parents and kids are fighting a multi-billion dollar tech industry, but we won’t back down. Canada must set a higher bar, not sink to the lowest common denominator.”
Zachary, youth advocate:
“Adults keep talking about the internet like it’s just ‘screen time.’ For us, it’s where we learn, connect, and where we can also be targeted. We’re not asking for perfection. We’re asking for protection.”
Josephine, youth advocate:
“We should be able to go online without being manipulated by algorithms designed to keep us scrolling or exposed to content that hurts us. Kids deserve safety by design, and we deserve it now.”
Carol Todd, Founder, Amanda Todd Legacy Society:
“Too many parents like me have buried our children because systems failed and platforms weren’t held accountable. Canada has the evidence. What we need now is action, strong laws, real oversight, and real consequences when companies don’t protect kids.”
Media availability
CFC and youth witnesses are available for interviews before and after the hearing (English/French availability subject to scheduling).
Media contact:
Andrea Chrysanthou
Email: achrysanthou@childrenfirstcanada.com
Phone: 416-797-8194
Website: CountdownForKids.ca