New Zealand's prime minister proposes banning children from using social media
New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has unveiled a proposed law banning children younger than 16 from using social media platforms, citing what he said Monday was "harm being done to a generation" of young people.
New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has proposed a law to ban children under 16 from using social media platforms. He cited harm being done to a generation of young people.
According to Luxon, research from 2025 showed a third of New Zealand teenagers spent at least five hours a day on social media, exposing them to harmful content, addictive technology, and pressures that affect their family life, mental health, sleep, and education.
The proposal, however, faces challenges in passing into law as it lacks sufficient support from Luxon's coalition government, with two out of three parties set to vote against it. The bill would require support from opposition lawmakers to pass, and a vote was not possible before Parliament dissolved on October 1 ahead of the November election.
Brief written by urgent.news from PBS NewsHour Health, Fast Company — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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