Bill 796: An Act to protect young people from the harmful effects of screens, in particular by regulating the use of social media and video games

This bill primarily affects companies that operate social media platforms or develop and sell video games — think a social media app with Quebec users, or a mobile/console game studio selling to Canadian consumers. Platforms of any size serving Quebec users must implement government-approved age verification systems before onboarding new users, and must audit and potentially cancel the accounts of existing users under 16. Video game makers and merchants — from indie developers to large publishers — must strip out loot boxes and microtransactions from games targeting under-18s, and remove regulated engagement mechanics (like daily login rewards or limited-time events) from games aimed at under-13s. Even businesses that offer services for free but monetize user data are captured under the expanded definition of 'merchant,' meaning ad-supported platforms can't sidestep the rules. Compliance will require significant technical and operational changes regardless of company size, but the burden of building age verification infrastructure will weigh especially heavily on smaller operators.