Canada has denied reports suggesting it is preparing to ban Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Evan Solomon, Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, clarified the situation in a post on X.
“Contrary to recent media claims, Canada is not considering banning X,” Solomon wrote. He referenced an earlier statement in which he announced the government’s intention to introduce legislation aimed at addressing deepfake-related crimes. According to Solomon, deepfake sexual abuse constitutes a serious form of violence and requires urgent action to protect Canadians, particularly women and young people. He emphasized that both digital platforms and AI developers must take responsibility for preventing such harm.
Solomon further explained that the federal government is moving forward with responsible AI regulation, including the introduction of Bill C-16, known as the Protecting Victims Act. The proposed legislation would amend Canada’s Criminal Code to classify deepfake content as intimate images under the offence of non-consensual distribution of intimate material. “By updating the criminal code, we will hold abusers accountable and strengthen protections for victims,” he said.
Meanwhile, X and its integrated AI chatbot, Grok, have come under increasing scrutiny. The platform has faced widespread criticism for allegedly enabling the creation of explicit images of users—particularly women and minors—without their consent.
This controversy has led several governments, including those in India, the United States, and the United Kingdom, to explore potential regulatory measures against the platform. In the U.S., three senators—Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico—recently sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The lawmakers urged the companies to remove X and Grok from their app stores until Elon Musk addresses what they described as serious and potentially illegal activities.
According to the letter, reviewed by CNBC, the senators argued that the apps currently allow the generation and spread of unlawful content. They warned that failing to act against X’s alleged violations would undermine the credibility of Apple’s and Google’s content moderation policies.
In response, Elon Musk dismissed the criticism, stating that the backlash was motivated by hostility toward free speech rather than genuine concern over safety.
