{
  "id": 2949081,
  "title": "New Zealand plans social media ban for under-16s backed by big fines",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/new-zealand-plans-social-media-ban-for-under-16s-backed-by-big-fines",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-24T05:14:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3365022/new-zealand-plans-social-media-ban-under-16s-backed-big-fines"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced on Monday that his party intends to introduce legislation in parliament that would ban children under 16 from using social media. The bill proposes fines of up to 10 percent of a platform's global revenue for non-compliance. To verify users' ages, platforms would need to take reasonable steps, such as using existing account information, facial technology, and digital identity documents. Luxon stated, \"We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children,\" as social media exposes them to harmful content, addictive technology, and pressures they are not equipped to handle, affecting family life, mental health, sleep, and education.\n\nLuxon's coalition partner, New Zealand First, expressed concerns about the proposed legislation and its potential slippery slope. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who also serves as the country's foreign minister, said the legislation could lead to an \"inevitable\" direction that would harm the country. In December, Australia became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking them from platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. Peters claimed the Australian legislation had been a \"colossal failure\" and argued that the responsibility of keeping children away from social media should lie with parents. Luxon acknowledged that it would not be easy to implement the ban, stating, \"We won't get every single child off social media. Some will always find ways around it, but frankly, it's just too important not to at least try.\"",
  "summary": "New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Monday his party would introduce a bill in parliament that seeks to ban children under 16 from using social media, proposing fines of up to 10 per cent of a platform’s global revenue for non-compliance. The bill would require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to verify users’ ages, including by using existing account information,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 9,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "New Zealand to introduce Bill banning social media for children under 16",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/new-zealand-to-introduce-bill-banning-social-media-for-children-under",
        "published": "2026-08-24T03:55:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Economic Times Tech",
        "title": "New Zealand to introduce bill banning social media for children under 16",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/new-zealand-to-introduce-bill-banning-social-media-for-children-under-2950052",
        "published": "2026-08-24T04:46:07.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Live Mint",
        "title": "New Zealand to introduce bill banning social media for children under 16; coalition partners call it ‘slippery slope’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/new-zealand-to-introduce-bill-banning-social-media-for-children-under-2951662",
        "published": "2026-08-24T05:10:37.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Guardian",
        "title": "New Zealand to consider banning children under 16 from social media",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/new-zealand-to-consider-banning-children-under-16-from-social-media",
        "published": "2026-08-24T05:22:19.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Business Times - Companies & Markets",
        "title": "New Zealand plans social media ban for under-16s",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/new-zealand-plans-social-media-ban-for-under-16s",
        "published": "2026-08-24T05:35:36.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "New Zealand to introduce bill banning social media for children under 16",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/new-zealand-to-introduce-bill-banning-social-media-for-children-under-2959413",
        "published": "2026-08-24T05:39:36.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Japan Times",
        "title": "New Zealand to introduce bill banning social media for children under 16",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/new-zealand-to-introduce-bill-banning-social-media-for-children-under-2958409",
        "published": "2026-08-24T05:43:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "New Zealand moves to ban under-16s from social media in major crackdown",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/new-zealand-moves-to-ban-under-16s-from-social-media-in-major",
        "published": "2026-08-24T05:49:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}