In the news today: New gun figures, AI deepfake probe, online harms, World Cup begins

The Canadian Press used the Access to Information Act to obtain the May 2024 and September 2025 reports by the RCMP’s Canadian National Firearms Tracing Centre and the force’s Criminal Firearms Strategic and Operational Support Services.

The figures are the latest available from the RCMP, and provide new insight into the origins of firearms involved in crimes ranging from break and enter to homicide.

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Privacy commissioner to release results of Grok deepfake investigation

The federal privacy commissioner will today release the results of his investigation of sexual deepfakes created by Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot.

Philippe Dufresne launched an investigation in January to examine the proliferation of sexualized deepfakes created by Grok and shared on the X social media platform.

He said at the time the non-consensual use of personal information to create deepfakes, including intimate images, is growing and poses serious risks to privacy rights.

The investigation looked at whether the companies involved are complying with privacy law and whether they obtained “valid consent” to collect, use and disclose personal information to create deepfakes, including explicit content.

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Ottawa moves to bar kids under 16 from social media, regulate chatbots

The Liberal government’s new online safety legislation would force social media to block access for kids under 16.

Introduced in the House of Commons on Wednesday, the bill would also regulate the companies behind AI chatbots by imposing on them a duty to act responsibly, such as lowering the risk of chatbots communicating harmful content and putting in place crisis-intervention protocols.

Culture Minister Marc Miller told reporters in Ottawa that the bill represents the basic expectation parents and Canadians have for keeping their children safe online.

Child advocates and medical professionals praised the bill Wednesday evening, while large tech companies said they were assessing the legislation.

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Social media platforms, app stores at odds over who should enforce social media bans

As countries including Canada move toward social media bans to keep young people safe online, tech companies are in a tug-of-war over who should be the gatekeepers.

Snapchat and Meta have argued that it should be app stores rather than platforms charged with verifying the ages of users when they try to add a platform to their phones.

Apple and Google, which run the App Store and Play Store respectively, have introduced some age-gating measures but neither has jumped to take on the responsibility platforms are looking for.

Experts like sociology professor Kaitlynn Mendes say trying to put the onus on one side or the other is pointless because keeping kids safe online should involve app store owners, platforms, governments and parents.

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World Cup begins as Canada braces for wave of matches, concerts and football fever

The biggest FIFA World Cup in history officially kicks off today, as Canadian host cities prepare for an influx of matches, international fans and cultural events.

In Toronto, the air is electric as Fan Festival programming, public watch parties and other activations take shape throughout the tournament, alongside final logistical preparations ahead of Canada’s opening match on home soil Friday.

This year’s World Cup is jointly hosted across Canada, the United States and Mexico, with the opening match between Mexico and South Africa set for 3 p.m. ET today in Mexico City.

The World Cup runs from today until July 19, including six games in Toronto and seven matches in Vancouver.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

In the news today: New gun figures, AI deepfake probe, online harms, World Cup begins

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