New Zealand's prime minister proposes banning children from using social media

New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has introduced a bill that would ban children under 16 from using social media platforms, arguing that such platforms are causing harm to young people. However, the bill lacks enough support to become law, as two of the three parties in Luxon's coalition government oppose it. Requiring the approval of opposition lawmakers, who have not yet decided their stance, the bill also failed to gain traction before Parliament dissolved on October 1st, ahead of the November election.

A bill must pass three rounds of voting, typically over several months, to become law. Luxon is hoping to make his government the latest worldwide to enforce age restrictions on social media, following the lead of numerous other countries that have either implemented or are considering such measures. According to a 2025 study, a third of New Zealand teenagers spend at least five hours a day on social media.

Luxon claims that social media exposes teens to harmful content, addictive technology, and pressures they are not prepared to handle, which negatively impacts their family life, mental health, sleep, and education. The proposed law would mandate social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook to verify that users are older than 16 using methods such as existing account information, facial age estimation, digital ID services, and formal ID.

Excluded from the law are messaging platforms like WhatsApp, online gaming platforms such as Roblox, and AI applications with productivity uses, including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. While the bill does not propose penalties for parents or children, tech companies could face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue for not complying with the regulations.

Platforms commonly used by children would be required to evaluate and report on the risks associated with their networks.