World News
New Zealand considers banning children under 16 from social media
New Zealand prime minister Luxon has said his party will introduce a bill in parliament that seeks to ban children under 16 from using social media, proposing fines of up to 10% of a platform’s global revenue for non-compliance.
The bill would require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to verify users’ ages, including by utilising existing account information, facial technology and digital identity documents. Luxon explained that this decision is to protect children from harm that may be caused by harmful content, addictive technology and pressures they are not equipped to deal with.
In December, Australia became the world’s first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking them from platforms including TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook.
That legislation had been a “colossal failure”, New Zealand’s foreign minister Peters said, adding that keeping children off social media should be the responsibility of parents.