New Zealand to consider banning children under 16 from social media
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced plans to introduce legislation banning children under 16 from using social media. The proposal includes significant fines for platforms that fail to verify user ages, though some political figures have expressed concerns over the policy's feasibility.
Why it matters
This represents a growing global trend of governments attempting to regulate social media access for minors to protect mental health.
New Zealand’s proposed social media ban for under-16s comes after Australia in December became the world’s first country to impose such a ban. New Zealand’s proposed social media ban for under-16s comes after Australia in December became the world’s first country to impose such a ban. Social media New Zealand to consider banning children under 16 from social media Prime minister Christopher Luxon’s party to introduce bill seeking the ban, citing harm to a generation of children
Prefer the Guardian on Google New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon has said his party will introduce a bill in parliament that seeks to ban children under 16 from using social media, proposing fines of up to 10% 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 utilising existing account information, facial technology and digital identity documents.
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