New Zealand’s government introduced legislation on Monday to bar children under 16 from using social media, joining a growing list of countries moving to restrict young people’s access to platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
The Online Safety Bill would require high-risk platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook, to take reasonable steps to verify that users are at least 16 years old, using measures such as existing account data, facial age-estimation technology, digital ID services and formal identification documents. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue. No penalties are proposed for children, parents or caregivers.
“We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said, citing government data showing that one in three children aged 13 to 17 spends at least five hours a day on social media. He said the platforms were exposing young people to harmful content, addictive design and pressures that were affecting their family life, mental health, sleep and education, and that the government could no longer wait for technology companies to address the problem voluntarily.
The bill builds on earlier momentum from a member’s bill introduced last year by National Party lawmaker Catherine Wedd, which Luxon had previously endorsed. It follows Australia’s world-first ban on social media use by under-16s, which took effect in December 2025, and comes as more than two dozen other countries, including several in Europe as well as Indonesia, Vietnam and Brazil, have enacted or are considering similar restrictions.
The proposal faces resistance from within Luxon’s own coalition. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said his party opposes the bill, calling Australia’s version a “colossal failure” and arguing that keeping children off social media should be left to parents rather than government mandate. The libertarian ACT party has also voiced opposition, saying it doubts the law would be effective. With both coalition partners resistant, the bill’s path through parliament remains uncertain.
Research on Australia’s ban has produced mixed early findings: a peer-reviewed study by Australian researchers published in June found little evidence that teenagers have moved away from social media use as a result of that country’s restrictions.
