New Zealand has introduced legislation aimed at preventing children under the age of 16 from using social media, as governments around the world grapple with growing concerns about the impact of online platforms on young people.
The proposed legislation, introduced by the New Zealand government on Monday, would put legal obligations on social media platforms to take reasonable steps to ensure users are at least 16 years old. The move follows a growing international push to limit children’s access to platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook.
New Zealand has been considering restrictions on social media for more than a year and neighbouring Australia has served as a major precedent. Australia introduced legislation banning children under 16 from accessing major social media platforms in December, becoming the first country to take such a sweeping measure.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government could not ignore the potential harm social media was causing young people. He cited figures suggesting that one in three New Zealand children aged 13 to 17 spend at least five hours a day on social media.
Luxon said excessive social media use can expose children to harmful content, addictive technologies and online pressures that they may not be equipped to handle. He also linked these concerns to children’s family relationships, mental health, sleep and education.
In the proposed legislation, social media companies would have to introduce measures to determine if users are above the age of 16. The government has said platforms could use existing account information, facial age-estimation technology, digital identity services and formal identification documents as part of the age-verification process.
The bill would also call for platforms to assess the risks of their services to young users and report on measures being taken to reduce those risks. Companies that don’t comply could face significant financial penalties, with fines perhaps exceeding 10 percent of their worldwide revenue.
Education Minister Erica Stanford said the proposed Bill would place clear legal obligations on social media platforms. In reality, the government has said children, parents and caregivers would not face penalties for violating the restrictions.
The legislation, however, faces a difficult political path. New Zealand’s coalition government is made up of the libertarian ACT Party and the populist NZ First, both of which have strongly opposed the proposal.
NZ First has argued that it cannot support the legislation and referred to what it described as the “colossal failure” of Australia’s approach. ACT has also questioned whether such a ban would be effective, arguing that teenagers could bypass the restrictions.
The opposition Labour Party has also raised questions about the proposal. It has sought greater clarity on how age verification would work and which platforms would be considered under the law and how the government intends to stop children from circumventing the restrictions.
Labour spokesman Reuben Davidson said the party was taking the legislation seriously. Young people in New Zealand’s safety is at stake as children are getting increasingly involved in complex online environments, he said.
The debate comes as governments wrestle with how to balance the protection of children online with the protection of their privacy and the safety of communication online. Restriction proponents say it is not sufficient to shield children from cyberbullying, harmful material, addictive platform design and algorithms that may attract harmful content.
Critics, however, worry about the extent to which broad social media bans can be implemented. They have also raised concerns about privacy, age-verification systems and the possibility that young users might simply move to platforms that aren’t covered by the restrictions.
Australia’s experience has added another dimension to the debate. Its under-16 social media restrictions cover major platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and were introduced as part of efforts to protect children from online bullying and what authorities have described as harmful or “predatory” algorithms.
But early research has raised doubts about the effectiveness of the Australian model. A peer-reviewed study conducted in June by Australia-based researchers found limited evidence that teenagers had significantly reduced their social media use as a result of the restrictions.
New Zealand's proposed legislation will therefore be closely watched locally and internationally. If passed, it will be yet another important test of whether governments can effectively limit children’s access to social media and ensure that age verification, privacy and enforcement mechanisms are in place.
The proposal also represents a broader shift in the way governments view social media regulation. Rather than putting the responsibility on parents and children, New Zealand’s approach attempts to hold technology companies legally responsible for preventing under-16 users from accessing their services.
The legislation, for now, has political opposition and many unanswered questions. If it gets passed, it will be up to the government to raise enough parliamentary support as well as to have a way of addressing the enforcement, privacy and practical effectiveness of an under-16 social media ban.
