New Zealand is set to introduce a bill in Parliament seeking to ban children under 16 from using social media, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Monday, proposing fines of up to 10% of a platform’s global revenue for non-compliance.
According to a Reuters report, 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.
“We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of children,” Luxon said in a statement. “ 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.”
“I won’t pretend that it will be simple or that it will be perfect,” said at an event. “We won’t get every single child off social media. Some will always find ways around it, but frankly, it’s just way too important not to at least try.”
However, there is a reasonable doubt about whether the bill would garner sufficient support to pass through Parliament. One of Luxon’s coalition partners, the New Zealand First party, said it would not support it.
“We have been concerned with the proposed legislation and the direction and slippery slope that legislation like this will inevitably take our country,” New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who is also the country’s foreign minister, said in a post on X.
That legislation had been a “colossal failure,” Peters said, adding that keeping children off social media should be the responsibility of parents.
Other countries with similar bans
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.
A landmark law forced major social media platforms to block minors under 16 from 10 December 2025, one of the world’s toughest regulations targeting major tech platforms. Companies that fail to comply could face penalties of up to A$49.5 million ($34.9 million).
Other countries like Britain, China, Denmark, France, and Germany also announced similar restrictions.
UK: Britain plans to approve a ban on social media for under-16s by Christmas, with the measure set to take effect around Spring 2027, ex-Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on June 15. Big tech firms operating in Britain must stop children circulating nude images on their phones, or they will face legislation forcing them to do so, Starmer said on June 8.
China: China’s cyberspace regulator has implemented a so-called “minor mode” programme that requires device-level restrictions and app-specific rules to limit screen time based on age.
Denmark: Denmark said in November it would ban social media for children under 15, while parents could provide access to certain platforms to kids as young as 13.
France: France’s top court on August 14 blocked a bill banning social media access for under-15s, saying it infringed upon freedom of expression. France’s parliament had approved the ban in July amid growing concerns about online bullying and mental health risks.
Germany: Minors aged 13 to 16 are allowed to use social media only with their parents’ consent. Child protection advocates say controls are insufficient.
Greece: Greece is “very close” to announcing a social media ban for children under 15, a senior government source told Reuters on February 3.
(With Reuters inputs)
