New Zealand’s prime minister proposes social media ban for children under 16

New Zealand’s prime minister has proposed banning social media for children under 16 years of age, a move similar to Australia which first led efforts to crack down on children’s exposure to cyberbullying and violent content.

Christopher Luxon of the governing National Party endorsed the members' bill, saying it is “about protecting our children” and seeking greater accountability from social media companies.

Mr Luxon, who leads a coalition government, said the law would force social media companies to verify users age and only allow people above 16 years of age or face fines up to NZ$2m (£901,984).

"It's time that New Zealand acknowledged that, for all the good things that come from social media, it's not always a safe place for our young people to be," Mr Luxon told reporters.

“This is about protecting our children. It’s about making sure social media companies are playing their role in keeping our kids safe,” he added.

The members bill has been put forward on Tuesday by National parliamentarian Catherine Wedd, the author of the bill, modelled off the Australian legislation.

"Currently, there are no legally enforceable age verification measures for social media platforms in New Zealand.

"My Social Media Age-Appropriate Users Bill is about protecting young people from bullying, inappropriate content and social media addiction by restricting access for under 16-year-olds.

“The bill puts the onus on social media companies to verify that someone is over the age of 16 before they access social media platforms,” Ms Wedd said.

The bill has to be selected from a ballot to be formally introduced into the parliament and would require support from the members of the National’s coalition parties and the opposition parties to be made into a law.

Mr Luxon’s National Party is the biggest member of the three-way governing coalition which includes ACT and New Zealand First.

ACT has said that it will not support the bill with its leader David Seymour saying a ban would be a hasty decision.

“Just slapping on a ban hastily drafted won’t solve the real problem. The real problem has to involve parents, the solution proposed by National doesn’t,” Mr Seymour said.

“What I’d like to see is the people worried about this, the educational psychologists, the social media companies themselves, everybody come before a select committee, really thrash it out, and get a solution that is technologically feasible.”

He said it would be appropriate to wait to see the effects of Australia’s ban on social media for children. However, opposition Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he was open to the idea.

“This is a conversation we need to have as a country. The Australians have been courageous and tackled it. I think New Zealand needs to do the same,” he told Radio New Zealand.

NZ First leader Winston Peters also supported the bill but said there is should be a select committee inquiry to form a law.

“It’s not just about the coalition, it’s about whether enough parties in Parliament have the clarity and clear-eyed sense of what’s needed right now for people who are at that age.”

Last year in November, Australia cleared the Social Media Minimum Age Bill to keep children off social media until they turn 16.

The law which will take a year to come into effect will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33m) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.

The move, one of the world’s first toughest crackdown on social media platforms, sparked a backlash from tech giants who said the law was “rushed”, “vague” and “problematic”.

The National-led government has already prohibited the use of mobile phones in schools. The policy was designed to turn around the country's plummeting literacy rates.