New Zealand to pursue social media ban for children under 16

The prime minister of New Zealand said ​Monday that his party plans to introduce legislation that would bar children under 16 from social media and mandate big fines for companies that do not adhere to the law.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was eyeing penalties of up to 10% of a platform’s global revenue for violations.

The legislation would mandate that high-risk social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook take “reasonable steps” to ensure users are over age 16 by using tools like facial age estimation, digital ID services, formal IDs and existing account information for verification.

The bill also would require that platforms popular with children consistently monitor the risks they pose and report back on how they are identifying and mitigating those risks.

Emerging tech like AI companions also will be subject to the framework, Luxon’s office said in a press release.

The bill would also create an online safety regulator within the country’s Department of Internal Affairs to check that platforms are complying and crackdown when they are not.

"We simply cannot accept ⁠the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children," Luxon ​said in a statement. "Social media is exposing them to harmful content, addictive technology ​and pressures they are not equipped to deal with and it's affecting their family life, mental health, sleep and education."

The proposed bill faces opposition from other New Zealand politicians and it is unclear how likely it is to become law.

Social media bans are spreading worldwide with a number of European countries, Turkey, Brazil, Indonesia and Canada either pursuing legislation or implementing laws that have already passed. 

Australia became the first country to institute a ban for children under 16, but independent studies have shown that the law has been difficult to enforce and many young teens are still on the platforms.