AI minister considering adding age restrictions on chatbot access to privacy bill

MONTREAL — An upcoming privacy bill could include age restrictions on access to AI chatbots to protect children, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said.

“There are lots of discussions around folks who are asking us, hey, should there be a certain age-appropriate access to certain parts of chatbots,” Solomon told The Canadian Press.

“We’re going to look at that.”

His comments come at a time of rising concerns about the risks of chatbots, such as mental health issues and delusions induced by AI systems.

Wrongful death lawsuits targeting artificial intelligence chatbots have been launched in the United States by parents of teenagers whose children died by suicide.

Solomon spoke Thursday about his approach to AI regulation at the Govern or Be Governed conference in Montreal. The next day, the conference heard from one of the parents behind those lawsuits.

Megan Garcia launched a lawsuit in Florida last year against Character.AI after her 14-year-old son died by suicide. In Montreal, she urged policymakers outside the United States to take action.

“My hope is that by passing legislation and enforcing it, making these companies liable for fines in their own countries or other things like that, that you will put the pressure” on tech companies, she said.

“But not only that, but maybe shame us into acting on behalf of our kids in our own country.”

In the interview, Solomon said he brought up one of the suicide cases with representatives from OpenAI.

He said it’s “very hard to jump to conclusions about how to regulate based on a horrific, tragic case.”

In California, the parents of a 16-year-old boy have launched a wrongful-death lawsuit against OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, alleging ChatGPT encouraged their son in his plans to die by suicide

Solomon said he hasn’t changed his mind about rejecting a wide-ranging regulatory approach to AI, but he is open to taking action on specific urgent and current issues.

He is also considering including in the legislation the right to delete deepfakes, saying he believes strongly that Canadians want to see action on deceptive AI-produced images and videos.

Solomon said he is also open to feedback from both Canadians and a group of experts he has asked to work on updating Canada’s AI strategy.

“There’s no point in asking for feedback and not being open to it,” he said.

He noted 6,500 Canadians have weighed in on the federal government’s consultation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2025.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press