Daniel Zekveld is a Policy Analyst with the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada.

This is a concern Canadian governments can and should also take action on.

Other jurisdictions are already doing so, including the U.K., France, Australia, and over two dozen U.S. states. These jurisdictions have typically passed laws requiring age verification to prevent children from viewing online pornography.

Canada’s Senate recently completed its study of Bill S-209, which would require pornography companies to verify the age of potential viewers through a third-party organization. That legislation passed third reading in the Senate to a standing ovation and will now be reviewed and debated in the House of Commons.

As Senator Miville-Dechene, the bill’s sponsor, concluded during the third reading debate, “By passing this bill, we’ll be sending a clear signal that Canada is serious about protecting its children in the digital world.”

Certainly, age verification is not perfect. Some children may be able to access pornography through a virtual private network, to hide their location. But using a VPN adds a barrier and would radically reduce incidents of youth accidentally stumbling across porn.

There are also ways for the government to target the use of VPNs to improve the effectiveness of age-verification for pornography.

The government ought to move Bill S-209 through the House of Commons swiftly and prioritize rules to limit youth access to pornography on social media.