Quebec proposes French language legislation targeting digital platforms and their content

At a glance

• On 21 May 2025, the Minister of Culture and Communications (Minister) presented Bill 109 to Québec’s National Assembly, an Act to affirm the cultural sovereignty of Québec and to enact the Act respecting the discoverability of French-language cultural content in the digital environment (Act).
• The Act affirms Québec’s cultural sovereignty by promoting the discoverability of original French-language cultural content in the digital environment, reinforcing the Charter of the French Language.
• The Act targets digital platforms and device manufacturers, mandating French-language interfaces by default, prioritisation of French content, and potential quotas. A public register and compliance obligations will be enforced by the Minister and the Office for the Discoverability of Cultural Content (officially known in Québec as the Bureau de la découvrabilité des contenus culturels (Office)).
• The Act seeks quasi-constitutional status by integrating discoverability rights into the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, with mechanisms for substitute compliance, sanctions for non-compliance, and ministerial powers to issue orders and injunctions.

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On 21 May 2025, the Minister presented the Act to Québec’s National Assembly. The Act aims to ensure the discoverability of original French language cultural content, meaning works created directly in French by Francophone creators, including films, books, music, and podcasts that are not translations.

The Act targets the digital environment in order to ostensibly promote a coherent linguistic strategy and reinforces the quality, influence and visibility of the French language, thus strengthening the Charter of the French Language which states that French is the only official and common language of Québec.

Three laws will be amended by the potential adoption of this bill including the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Act Respecting Administrative Justice and the Act Respecting the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications. This article primarily focuses on the provisions affecting the targeted platforms and the conditions and sanctions that may influence how they operate or promote their content.

Constitutional recognition of the right to discoverability and its purpose

The Act sets out to acquire a quasi-constitutional status as it proposes to elevate its rules to the level of a fundamental right by integrating discoverability and access to the targeted content into the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

These changes will be implemented through the Office which will oversee the mission and ensure compliance with the law.

The stated goal is to promote the ease of access and visibility of content in a saturated digital environment, aiming to enhance availability of Québec’s culture without requiring people to search extensively to find it. Acting on the Office’s recommendations, the Minister will be empowered to adopt regulations to further the purpose of the Act. The Act identifies two main domains that will be affected: digital platforms and manufacturers.

Targeted actors

The Minister intends to regulate the terms and conditions related to the access of French content made available by media and entertainment companies subject to the Act. The following entities are subject to these obligations:

Digital platforms (sub-sub heading)

A person or partnership that:

• Offers a service for viewing audiovisual content online.
• Offers a service for music streaming.
• Offers a service for audio books or podcasts online.
• Provides access to such a service offered by a third-party platform.
• Offers services enabling access to online cultural content determined by government regulation.

Manufacturers

Manufacturers of television sets or of devices that:

• Are designed to be connected to a television set and include an interface that allows access to audiovisual content online.
• Provide access to services for viewing audiovisual content online.
• Include an interface enabling access to online cultural content determined by government regulation.

The Act specifically excludes social media platforms and digital platforms that are mainly dedicated to offering Indigenous content.

Requirements for the actors concerned by the Act

If the Act is adopted in its current form, it will mean that those subject to it will:

• Have an obligation to offer a French-language interface by default in digital platforms, television sets or devices enabling access to online cultural content.
• Need to ensure that their services, through their interface, guide the public toward digital platforms that meet presence and discoverability criteria for original French-language cultural content.
• Need to provide access to viewing platforms designated by the government through regulation. These platforms must primarily offer French-language cultural content and be operated by a public legal entity or a non-profit organisation.
• Potentially need to meet quotas established by the Minister. The Act allows the Minister to determine the proportion or quantity of original French-language cultural content that must be prioritised. The same applies to content that must be available in French, as well as formats adapted for persons with disabilities. Metadata standards could also fall under the Minister’s regulation.

Digital company register

'Every digital platform that meets the criteria determined by government regulation must register with the Minister.'

Subscribing to the requirements alone might not be sufficient. The Minister also intends to create a publicly-available register of all digital platforms and manufacturers that are subject to the Act. A thirty-day notice will be given in advance by the Minister to inform any concerned platform that they will be subject to registration, outlining the reasons for this obligatory registration. The platform will then have thirty days to contest this decision in writing, which will trigger a review process.

Possible flexibility mechanism

If the Act is adopted, platforms may be permitted to propose alternative compliance methods (substitute measures) if they can achieve the objectives of the Act in an equivalent manner. However, the Act does not provide a list of potential substitute measures. This provision may therefore allow platforms to be exempt from certain requirements, subject to government approval. If approval is granted, the alternative compliance methods will be limited to a maximum five-year period, after which a renewal request will have to be submitted. If the platform fails to comply with an order is subject to an administrative sanction, or violates provisions of the Act, the Minister may revoke this authorisation. A thirty-day grace period may then be given to the platform to contest this decision.

Ministerial powers and sanctions for non-compliance

The Act proposes to introduce measures for (1) the monitoring and enforcement of its provisions and (2) sanctions for non-compliance as summarised below:

• Under the Act, the Minister will have the authority to conduct investigations and inspections through the Office. The Minister may issue orders to digital platforms, manufacturers, and third parties when they fail to meet their obligations. A fifteen-days prior notice will have to be sent to the concerned party, outlining the reasons for the order and providing an opportunity to contest it. The Minister will also have the right to ask the Superior Court to issue an injunction.
• In the event of non-compliance, a platform may be subject to a monetary administrative penalty. Before imposing the sanction, the Minister may issue a notice of non-compliance. The proposed penalty would be of CAD2,500 for a natural person and CAD15,000 in all other cases. A thirty-day period will be granted to submit a written request for review. Each day the non-compliance continues constitutes a separate violation. A public register will be kept, listing all violations and sanctions.
• In cases where a platform knowingly provides false or inaccurate documents during an inspection or investigation or hinders or attempts to obstruct the Office in the exercise of its duties, a sanction may be imposed. The proposed penalty would be of CAD2,500 to CAD25,000 for a natural person, and of CAD15,000 to CAD150,000 in all other cases. In cases where an individual or entity contravenes an order, the penalty would range from CAD5,000 to CAD50,000 for a natural person, and from CAD30,000 to CAD300,000 in all other cases. Penalties would be double the fines imposed on a natural person for directors or officers of a legal person. Each day the non-compliance continues constitutes a separate violation.

Alignment with Bill 96

Adopted in 2022, Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, amended several provisions across various laws to 'strengthen' the use of French. Bill 96 reinforced the use of French in public administration, education, justice, commerce, employment and immigration. This Act further evidences the current government’s aim for broader language policy, adding a complementary layer of French language legislation to the digital cultural space. As the Act is still in its early stages of adoption, interested parties have the opportunity to submit comments and feedback on the Act to the parliamentarians (here).