New Zealand Moves To Ban Social Media For Under-16s

New Zealand’s government has introduced a bill seeking to ban children under 16 from using social media platforms.

The bill, which will be introduced in Parliament on Monday, proposes fines of up to 10 percent of a platform’s global revenue for companies that fail to comply.

Under the proposed law, social media platforms would be required to take reasonable steps to verify users’ ages.

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The measures could include checking existing account information, using facial recognition technology, and requiring digital identity documents.

New Zealand Moves To Ban Social Media For Under-16s (newsCentral TV) — Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Credit: Reuters.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government could no longer ignore social media’s impact on children.

“We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children,” Luxon said in a statement.

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“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 added.

The proposed restrictions are part of the conservative coalition government’s efforts to protect children from harmful online content and excessive social media use.

If passed, the law would make New Zealand one of the countries adopting some of the strongest restrictions on social media access for minors.

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Deborah Akwa

Deborah Akwa is a content writer with over four years of experience creating brand stories, editorial content, and audience-focused articles on topics like health, lifestyle, and entertainment.

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