On Wednesday (May 28, 2025), Canadian Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne reintroduced legislation aimed at enforcing strict age verification for access to online pornography.

The bill, titled “The Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act (Bill S-209), proposes steep fines and site-blocking measures for noncompliant platforms, reigniting debates around censorship, privacy, and online safety.

Under the proposed law, adult websites failing to implement age verification or age estimation technologies could face fines of up to $250,000 for a first offense and $500,000 for repeat violations. Internet service providers (ISPs) would also be required to block access to sites that don’t comply, a provision that could result in Canadians being denied access to entire websites, including non-pornographic content.

Miville-Dechêne, a longtime advocate for online child protection, defended the bill’s scope during a previous interview with legal scholar Michael Geist.

“The freedom of expression of porn actors cannot be more important than the protection of children,” she said, brushing off concerns about potential overreach.

Bill S-209 (2025) mirrors elements of S-210 (The Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act) and outlines an enforcement process that includes designated government authorities, court orders, and annual reporting to Parliament.

The original bill S-210 (The Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act) was passed by the Canadian Senate in April of 2023, but failed in the House of Commons in May of 2024, with 189 voting for it, while 133 voted against it.

At the time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized opposition leader Pierre Poilievre for prioritizing Bill S-210 over the Online Harms Act, stating that “instead of stepping up to stand for protecting our kids through responsible, serious legislation, he’s proposing that adults should instead give their ID and personal information to sketchy websites, or create a digital ID for adults to be able to browse the web the way they want to.”

The new bill S-209 (2025) specifically targets commercial pornographic content and calls for third-party age-verification systems that ensure user privacy while effectively preventing minors from accessing adult material.

Core Provisions of Bill S-209 Include:

• Fines of up to $500,000 for adult content providers that fail to restrict access by minors.
• ISP Blocking of noncompliant sites, potentially impacting access to lawful content for all Canadians.
• Third-party age Verification systems that operate independently of content creators and adhere to strict privacy guidelines.
• Federal Oversight, including annual reports to Parliament detailing enforcement actions and court orders.
• The Enforcement Authority is empowered to issue non-compliance notices and pursue court orders to block access.

The bill also addresses public health concerns, citing links between adolescent exposure to pornography and potential harms, including addiction and the reinforcement of gender stereotypes. It claims that modern age estimation technologies can be both effective and privacy-conscious, a point contested by digital rights advocates.

Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne and other critics have previously warned that mandatory age verification could set a dangerous precedent for online censorship. Civil liberties groups argue that such requirements may infringe on adults’ rights to access legal content and raise serious concerns about data collection and user anonymity.

Despite repeated failures of past attempts, Bill S-209 may gain traction amid growing political pressure to regulate online spaces, especially in regard to youth protection.

If passed, the legislation would take effect one year after receiving royal assent.