New Zealand’s government has introduced legislation to ban children under 16 from using social media platforms.
The proposed law follows similar crackdowns implemented in Australia, as well as measures introduced in the UK and France.
Under the bill, tech firms like Meta could face fines of up to 10 percent of their global revenue for failing to comply.
Background
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the country could not accept the harm being done to a generation of children.
He highlighted that one in three kids aged 13 to 17 now spend at least five hours daily on social media.
Luxon noted that exposure to addictive technology and harmful content is severely impacting their family life, education, and mental health.
Legislation
Platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook will be required to take reasonable steps to verify user ages.
Companies will need to rely on existing account data, digital ID services, facial age estimation, and formal ID.
Education Minister Erica Stanford confirmed that legal obligations fall on platforms, with no penalties proposed for children or parents.
However, the bill faces an uncertain path as coalition partners ACT and NZ First both oppose the measure.
Opposition party Labour has submitted dozens of questions regarding age verification and enforcement before deciding its stance.
The push comes despite recent Australian research showing little evidence that teenagers turned away from social media after similar bans.
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