Bill S-209: Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act

This primarily affects organizations that operate adult content websites or platforms that host and distribute pornographic material commercially — including subscription-based adult sites, ad-supported free pornography platforms, and content hosting services where adult creators sell material. These businesses, whether based in Canada or serving Canadian users, would need to implement government-prescribed age-verification or age-estimation technology operated by an independent third party. Internet service providers across Canada are also affected, as they could be court-ordered to block access to non-compliant pornographic sites. Size matters less than the nature of the business: any organization commercially distributing adult content online to Canadians faces fines up to $250,000 for a first offence and $500,000 for subsequent offences, plus potential administrative monetary penalties.