New Zealand proposes social media ban for children under 16
Easier said than done.
14-year-old's iPhone screen displays social media and messaging apps. Anna Barclay/Getty.
- New Zealand has proposed a social media ban for children under 16 through a new bill in Parliament.
- The bill would force high-risk platforms to verify age, assess child safety risks, and report how they reduce harm.
- Platforms that break the rules could face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue.
- The proposal faces political uncertainty, and Australia’s similar ban has already raised doubts about how well such rules work.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Following Australia’s lead, the New Zealand government wants to introduce a social media ban for children under the age of 16.
“We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said in a statement.
According to Luxon, 1 in 3 children between the ages of 13 and 17 is spending at least 5 hours a day on social media.
“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,” he continued.
The prime minister argued that the government has a responsibility not only to protect children in the real world, but in the virtual world as well. That’s why the government introduced the Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill in Parliament on August 24th.
The bill requires so-called “high-risk social media platforms,” such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, to ensure users are at least 16 years old. They can use any way necessary to verify a user’s age, including existing account information, facial age recognition technology, or digital ID services.
In addition, the platforms are obligated to regularly assess the risks posed by young users and report on how these risks are identified and reduced.
Lastly, the government intends to establish an online safety regulator within the Department of Internal Affairs to independently monitor compliance and enforce the law.
Platforms that fail to meet their obligations could face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue.
Stay updated with our latest stories and follow us on social media
Be the first to discover new stories, ideas, and updates from our team.
Minister of Education Erica Stanford stated that the legal framework will bring New Zealand in line with other countries around the world.
“It doesn’t just introduce a minimum age requirement. It creates an enduring framework that can evolve alongside technology and holds platforms responsible for understanding and reducing the risks they create for children,” she said.
According to the BBC, it’s unclear if the bill will get the votes to pass Parliament after both the Act and New Zealand First (NZF) parties, which are coalition partners in the government, said they would oppose it.
In December 2025, Australia was the first country in the world to officially ban social media for under-16s.
However, there have been doubts about the ban's effectiveness. A recent study showed that more than 8 out of 10 teenagers continue to use social media platforms even after the ban.
Numerous European countries are looking to introduce online age-restriction measures to curb the adverse effects of social media. To date, this has led to a fragmented approach, as Cybernews has previously reported.
