The federal government’s proposed internet security legislation is a good start for regulation artificial intelligence chatbots — but more work will be needed to protect Canadians from their potential harm, a pair of lawyers say.
Bill C-34, introduced earlier this month in the House of Commons, would regulate the companies behind AI chatbots by imposing a duty on them to act “responsibly.”
It includes measures to reduce the risk of chatbots communicating harmful content and will establish crisis intervention protocols for cases involving self-harm, suicide or violence.
Wyatt Tessari L’Allié, founder of Government and Security Artificial Intelligence Canada, said the bill’s effectiveness depends on how the details are worked out.
“It is an important first step if the bill is drafted well and the regulations are well implemented,” Tessari L’Allié said in a recent interview.
For example, he said AI platforms should be forced to recognize signs of a user’s mental health concern or suicidal thoughts, direct them to resources and end the conversation to prevent any harm.
BC computer science professor Kevin Leyton-Brown said Ottawa will also have to go further to address how chatbots try to satisfy users with their responses.
“They tend to assert whatever the user says. They’re built that way because people like sycophantic behavior,” said Leyton-Brown, who is an AI chair with the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.
“But there are some people for whom this kind of reinforcement can be really dangerous, like people who suffer from delusions.”
Get daily national news
Get Canada’s daily news delivered to your inbox so you never miss the top news of the day.
The bill includes the creation of a new digital security regulator, which, if the legislation is passed, is expected to take 18 months to set up.
Ottawa’s efforts to regulate chatbots come as a New Brunswick mother hopes to hold OpenAI responsible for her daughter’s suicide death.
Kristie Carrier, who filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its owner Sam Altman in California Superior Court in San Francisco earlier this month, said justice for her daughter Alice looks like using her story to create “meaningful change.”
“It would seem like one day if I’m blessed with grandchildren, I won’t worry about them going down the same rabbit hole,” Carrier told The Canadian Press in a recent interview.
Carrier is asking the court to force OpenAI to implement “tough bans” on self-harm chatter and undergo independent security audits.
Some of Alice’s conversations with ChatGPT are included in the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that after the chatbot initially directed him to seek help while talking about suicide, it later reinforced potentially harmful views and pushed him into isolation.
The lawsuit alleges the loud-mouthed model at one point echoed Alice’s opposition to helplines and said they could “feel downright dangerous” and she deserved “real, gentle support,” according to screenshots in the lawsuit.
More than a year after first bringing suicidal thoughts to the AI robot, Alice died by suicide in Montreal in July 2025.
The allegations have not been tested in court, and OpenAI did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Tessari L’Allié said lawsuits like Carrier signal to companies there will be a “price to pay” if guardrails are not placed on their platforms. He said they are also pressing lawmakers to provide oversight that could prevent deaths like Alice’s.
“If these regulations had been put in place, it probably would have saved many lives, and potentially hers,” said Tessari L’Allié.
When asked whether internet safety legislation could have prevented deaths like Alice’s, the Federal Science Department said it could not comment on cases before the courts.
However, the department said the government, through legislation, “is committed to ensuring that Canadians are safe online and that digital platforms have adequate safeguards when credible risks of harm arise.”
While regulators and AI platforms may be able to address concerns about encouraging self-harm, Leyton-Brown said he is concerned about the broader issue of humans forming connections with artificial intelligence.
“If you have what feels like a real, vulnerable human relationship with a piece of computer code that’s built by a big, faceless corporation that doesn’t have your best interests at heart, that can be just dangerous in a lot of different ways,” he said.
“And I think our society really needs to think about that carefully to make sure we don’t end up in a very bad place.”
— With files from Anja Karadeglija.
&copies 2026 The Canadian Press
