New report says youth should help guide Ottawa’s campaign against online exploitation

By Canadian Press on February 18, 2026.

OTTAWA — The federal government should listen to young people as it takes on the problem of online harms, a group of youth advocates told reporters on Parliament Hill Wednesday.

“Youth are calling for clear federal action,” including a national youth advisory council on digital safety, said Blue Vetsch.

The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights held a joint press conference with the youth advocates in Ottawa Wednesday to present a new report. It says current systems aren’t protecting young people in digital spaces.

The report outlines harms young people are experiencing online, including sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated gender-based violence and discrimination.

It calls on the government to establish a youth digital safety advisory council that would have input into federal legislation, regulation and policy.

“We are at an important crossroads. As we’re thinking of new legislation, this is the moment to genuinely partner with young people early in the process, not at the end and not just symbolically,” said Fea Gelvezon.

The Liberal government plans to introduce legislation to address online harms after an earlier bill, introduced by the previous Liberal government, failed to become law.

Advocates for women and children have called on the government to bring back the proposals included in that bill.

That legislation included a requirement for social media companies to explain how they plan to reduce the risks their platforms pose to users, and imposed on them a duty to protect children.

Vetsch said Wednesday one of the measures the youth advocates want to see introduced is a “statutory duty of care requiring platforms to assess and prevent harm.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2026.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press