WELLINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Monday that his government will introduce a bill seeking to ban children under the age of 16 from using social media platforms.
Under the proposed legislation, social media companies could face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue if they fail to comply with the age restriction.
The bill would require platforms to take reasonable measures to verify users’ ages. Proposed methods include using existing account information, facial recognition technology and digital identity documents.
Luxon said the government could not ignore what he described as the harm being caused to a generation of New Zealand children.
He said social media was exposing young people to harmful content, addictive technologies and pressures that could affect their family relationships, mental health, sleep and education.
However, it remains uncertain whether the proposed legislation will secure enough support in Parliament. New Zealand First, one of Luxon’s coalition partners, has said it will not support the bill.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said his party had serious concerns about the proposed legislation and warned that such laws could lead the country down an undesirable path.
Peters also criticised Australia’s policy restricting social media access for children under 16, describing the measure as a failure. He argued that parents should ultimately be responsible for deciding whether their children use social media.
Australia introduced the world’s first national social media ban for under-16s in December, covering platforms including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
Luxon acknowledged that enforcing the proposed restrictions would not be easy and that some children could find ways to bypass the rules.
However, he said the potential benefits were significant enough for the government to make the effort, even if the system could not completely prevent every child from accessing social media.
