New Brunswick tables bill to prohibit unfair digital practices targeting under-16s

New Brunswick has introduced the Act Respecting Young Persons, Digital Markets, and Technology Use. It includes the proposed Young Consumers in Digital Markets Act, which would protect consumers under 16 from unfair consumer-facing practices when using digital platforms, goods and services. The Financial and Consumer Services Commission (FCNB) would administer and enforce the legislation. The government describes it as the first Canadian legislation of its kind and a complement to the federal government’s proposed Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act.

For compliance teams, the proposal is a product and marketing measure, not only a social-media safety initiative. It would apply to providers of digital goods, services and platforms used by young consumers, including apps, games and social media services. FCNB chief executive Kevin Hoyt said the legislation would set “clear expectations for how businesses design, market and deliver digital products and services to young consumers”.

Practices in scope

The proposed Act would target four categories of conduct:

- misleading young consumers or hiding important information;
- using pressure or urgency to encourage a purchase or agreement;
- making it difficult for a young consumer to understand what they are agreeing to; and
- using advertising or other communications that would unfairly influence a young consumer’s decision or behaviour.

The rules would cover business practices involving marketing and “certain design features”. Atlas reads it as potentially extending beyond advertising claims into the way a digital service presents choices, agreements and purchase journeys.

Teams should identify where young users encounter pricing, consent, promotional messages, urgency prompts or material information, and preserve evidence of how those journeys are designed. That is a preparatory control exercise, not a response to an already operative requirement.

Proposal, not yet an operative duty

The legal posture remains preliminary. The government has introduced legislation, but the proposed Young Consumers in Digital Markets Act is not yet in force. Providers should not treat the listed practices as current statutory prohibitions until the legislation is enacted and any commencement rules take effect.

The FCNB’s role would be broader than education. It would be responsible for administration and enforcement, while the proposed law would place greater responsibility on digital-product providers to prevent unfair treatment of young consumers. That gives the Commission a potential route to examine both external communications and the commercial design of digital services.

The wider Act also contains school and early-learning measures. It would legislate amendments to Policy 311 on responsible use of digital technology and create Policy 902 on screen time and personal mobile devices in licensed early-learning and childcare facilities. The government says those policies were implemented in September. Rules on cellphones and personal mobile devices for students in grades 9 to 12 take effect at the start of the second semester in February 2027.