Another country moves to ban social media for under-16s

New Zealand's government has introduced legislation to ban under-16s from using social media, joining a growing number of countries concerned about the impact of platforms like Instagram and TikTok on young users. Australia enacted similar legislation in December, followed by the UK, France, and others. New Zealand's proposed law could impose fines of up to 10 percent of global revenue on firms like Meta if they fail to comply.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon emphasized the need to address the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children, citing exposure to harmful content, addictive technology, and pressures they are not equipped to handle. The platforms would be required to verify users' age using existing information, facial age estimation, digital ID services, and formal ID.

Education Minister Erica Stanford stated that the Bill places legal obligations on platforms, though penalties are not proposed for children, their parents, or caregivers. The bill's passage is uncertain as both National Party coalition partners oppose it, with NZ First citing Australia's legislation failure and ACT believing the law won't work.

Labour has raised concerns about age verification methods and the platforms affected, but the opposition party has not yet decided whether to offer support.